A Funny Thing Called Reincarnation
by rikitikitavi8
Summary: AU. Mamoru doesn't know he is Tuxedo Kamen, but four random guys are trying to convince him that he is the reincarnated prince of the earth. Shitennou/Senshi and M/U.
1. Smashing to Meet You

Disclaimer: Just by virtue of being on this site, you should assume that the characters and stuff aren't mine.

Tokyo, Japan, 1996. The city has 120 million people, so it seems impossible that five people from extraordinarily different backgrounds should meet. A twenty-two year old silver haired Brit. Stationed in Japan for training Japanese troops in Western tactics, and learning Eastern ones in exchange. A twenty-one year old psych major with blond hair, manipulative, but good hearted. Crass, an American studying abroad. A twenty-one year old Japanese theater major, brunette and taking a year off to live in Tokyo. A nineteen year old computer programmer, started his own business when he was sixteen. Business was flourishing, but he is working on a degree in history and a degree in engineering for fun. And a nineteen year old orphan, only one friend in the world, already premed and a minor in politics. Their paths had never crossed, and if they hadn't now, they probably never would. The meeting was so utterly unlikely that fate had to take a hand. With a little help from a parks that seems to be the center for metaphysical activities.

Jed Johnson was not having a good day. First of all, a siren went off near his dorm at four in the morning the one day he could have slept in. He might have gotten to sleep again had his roommate not come in totally wasted five minutes later. Yes, he had suspicions about how closely the two events were related. At any rate, after he graciously (grumblingly) helped his roommate to bed, the idiot leaned over hand puked on the floor and more importantly, Jed's legs. Cursing Jed had cleaned both the floor and himself. But, being both mischievous and vengeful, Jed slowly rigged the room. Roommate's hand in warm water - check. Saran wrap across the toilet - check. Water bucket balanced on closer door - check. Radio alarm clock set for an hour later at the highest volume and on the metal rock station - check. Unfortunately, Jed was in an unusually bad mood and these pranks did nothing to alleviate it. That was how he found himself wandering around a park at six in the morning. Only to be assaulted by this nut job.

Okay, maybe assaulted is two strong a word. Aggravated then.

He had been walking, lost in his thoughts, when someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. He stilled his urge to spin into a defensive crouch, instead, he slowly turn around. The man grabbing his shoulder seemed normal, although he had definitely ripped off his hairstyle from the human version of beast from Beauty and the Beast. Yes, he seemed the average citizen.

Until he opened his mouth.

The stars foretold this meeting, indeed. The man had gone into this diatribe about the properties of constellations and the alignment of planets. Apparently, the scornful and perturbed look on his face wasn't a good enough hint. Finally, Jed cleared his throat and the man finally closed his mouth.

"Look it," Jed said in his hickiest English, "I dunno what kinda parsley you been smokin', but leave me out of your delusional fantasies. I don't know you and you don't know me and it's the God's honest truth that I want to keep it that way."

"American, huh? That was not revealed." The man said in perfect English.

'Damn it.' Jed cursed internally.

"Although," the man mused, "I'd wager that you are fluent in Japanese. Otherwise, you wouldn't know of my 'delusions', did you call them?"

'Oh great. An intelligent loon.' There were a plethora of books and movies on what crazy-not-stupid people could be capable of.

"Right, well. Now that we understand each other and you know that I am American and I know that you have a good shot at being locked up and put under psychiatric evaluation, I think that it is time to part." he said in his normal, accent-less voice, and gave the man a mocking Eastern bow.

"Wait. We cannot ignore the will of the stars."

"Oh yes we can, and quite easily too, I would imagine."

Jed turned to leave and the man grabbed his arm again. By this point, Jed was really annoyed. "Look it. Let go of my arm and leave me the hell alone. Go back to your astrology books."

"No."

"No? What do you mean 'no'? I'll have you know that that arm has been my personal property for the past twenty-one years and it will still be mine for the next twenty-one years. Plus forty or fifty."

"Just that, no. Our meeting here was fated and I won't let you go until the others arrive."

"What others?"

"The three who are meant to come."

"And how the hell are you going to keep them here, hmm? You only have two hands, and I'll tell you this, it will take both of them for you to even have a chance at keeping me here."

So saying, he broke the man's grip, but unfortunately for Jed, the man was trained in fighting. For the first few minutes, they exchanged blows, neither gaining the upper hand or even landing a hit. They were pretty evenly matched, but the strange man seemed to have an uncanny ability to guess Jed's next move. Jed used this slight advantage to account for why it was he who ended up being pinned to the ground. Just as Jed was wondering if the man planned to keep him like this until the mysterious 'others' arrived, a voice interrupted them.

"What's all this then?"

Jed leaned his head back so he could see the tall shadowy figure. Not making out any features, he muttered, "Oh look, the British have come."

Lieutenant Sergeant Keenan O'Callahan had been out jogging after an abysmal night's sleep. He had stopped for a breather when he realized that the two men having a heated conversation in English had turned to fist cuffs. He ran his fingers through his military-regulation short hair, and wished that he was the sort who could ignore them and go about his way. But no, the year of law enforcement before he joined the military would not allow a civic disruption.

He internally winced when he heard his own voice call the Bobbies' catch phrase. Yes, there was no way that he could let this go. Keenan didn't twitch at the pinned blonde's asinine statement. He was, after all, American, and such things were to be expected. Besides, Keenan was not the sort to let anything past his stoic facade.

The man with long brown hair, who was currently pinning the American, looked up at him, and Keenan could hear the excitement beneath the mystic tone in his voice, "You're here!" Turning to the man beneath him, he added, "I told you they'd come."

The American snorted, "So this guy's a part of your nutty fantasy too?" He glanced at Keenan, "My condolences. If I were you, I'd get out of here while the nut is busy holding me down."

Annoyance entered the man's voice, "I am not a nut. My name is Nathan and I am perfectly sane."

"Oh, yes. Perfectly sane people always pin complete strangers to the ground, claiming that their meeting was fated by the stars." He glanced at Keenan and noted, "Have you ever noticed that the most insane are always those who claim to be the least?"

If Keenan were the type to show emotion, he would have rubbed his forehead. These two were giving him a headache already and he had only been in their presence five minutes. But, strangely, this whole thing wasn't unfamiliar. In fact there was a weird sensation of nearing home. But that wasn't right, home was nothing like this. Home was cold. Emotionless. So much that Keenan hadn't felt anything at planning his only parent's funeral. And the funeral itself was merely tedious.

Keenan was about to say something when he registered too late that someone had shouted, "Look out!" in Japanese. He found himself on the ground next to the American, a skateboard on his lap, and a younger boy on the ground in front of him. The boy raised a startled face to Keenan.

"Oh man! Gomen nasai." The boy cried in Japanese, bowing impossibly from his seat, and frankly looking ridiculous doing so. His long blond hair falling out of its ponytail.

"I knew it!" Nathan positively crowed. "Only one more and we'll all be here."

The American frowned, "Are you just claiming whoever happens to stop by is a part of your fantasy? Because I think that that is cheating and no proof at all."

Ignoring them, Keenan removed the skateboard from his lap and rose. An impressive six feet three inches, especially when compared to the sitting boy's five foot five. Keenan didn't know why he felt a strange sense of kinship to this boy, but it was like he was a younger brother. He stared, his normally stoic face in even harsher lines then usual. He was not one to take an immediate liking to anything. Especially not people!

Not realizing that he was making the boy exceedingly nervous, Keenan studied him as thoroughly as any new recruit. The boy was small, but not frail. He had lithe muscles, not a fighter, but probably extremely flexible. His eyes revealed intelligence, while the quirk in his mouth showed an inherent mischievousness.

"Uh...moshi moshi?" the young boy waved a hand in front of his face.

Keenan was suddenly made aware that the three men were staring at him. He almost felt the urge to blush. Almost.

"Gomen." he muttered.

The boy laughed, "Not a problem. I was just worried that our unexpected meeting caused permanent damage."

"No."

"Well, okay. " the boy sprang to his feet and grabbed his skateboard, but before he could take off, Keenan grabbed his arm. "Nani?"

"What's your name?"

"Zane, and you?"

"Keenan."

"And I'm Jed!" The American shouted from the ground, "Can one of you gents please get this delusional oaf off me?"

"I am not delusional, you're just stubborn. This is destiny." Nathan said disgustedly.

"Let me tell you something about destiny, bucko. It happens on its own, it does not involve pinning a guy to the ground."

"It does if the participants stubbornly ignore it."

"Actually," Zane began with the air of giving a report, "destiny can involve pinning someone to the ground or other mortal activities, because actions shape destiny. Fate, on the other hand, happens both in spite of and because of actions, there is no stopping fate..."

"You see!" Nathan said jumping up, forgetting for a moment that his weight was the only thing keeping Jed in place. Jed, of course, took advantage of this lack of foresight and slithered away from him. Nathan, realizing what he'd done, quickly grabbed Jed's arm again.

"Let go. I'll stay until your last person shows up, I promise."

"I don't believe you."

"A good idea in the general run of things, but I'm serious this time. I'll even swear it to Old Loquacious over there." Jed said jerking his thumb at Keenan. "He doesn't look like the sort that you'd lie to, does he?"

"It is hard to determine the veracity behind the idea of fate or destiny because we have nothing to compare the outline of events to." Zane continued his lecture, blithely unaware that no one was paying any attention to him. "The Ancient Greeks played around with the inevitability of events by using prophecy and the reaction to prophecy. Begging the question, would Oedipus' life occurred the same way if his father hadn't heard the prophecy. Or in other words, was his fate/destiny truly inevitable..."

Jed walked over to Keenan and kneeled on one knee, "I swear to you, good sir, that I will stay here until the loon says that we can part." He glanced at Nathan, "Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

"It is the same sort of debate that follows that of a deity as the only way to prove it either way is through belief. You can either believe that whether Oedipus' father heard the prophecy or not, Oedipus' life would have gone the same way. Or you can believe that hearing the prophecy was the catalyst. Again the question is, are our actions predetermined by events and our personality. Is there really a freedom of choice, and if so, does the timeline change because of it or does it take it into account and is formed in stone by it. Again, will one person do the same thing over and over given the same situation. Of course, like theology, it is impossible to prove anything with belief as the first tenet of proof. Belief by nature is subjective to the individual, even if the society that they are raised in shares a belief system."

"Are you still talking?" Jed asked Zane incredulously.

"Huh? Oh." Zane blushed, finally realizing his audience's inattentiveness and flicked his skateboard's wheels nervously.

Shaking his head, Jed glanced at Nathan, "So, where _is_ this last fellow?"

"He'll be here." growled Nathan, completely losing the mystic tone he had thus far maintained.

Twenty minutes later.

Keenan didn't know why he was still in the park. Its not like he believed Nathan's bull about fated meetings. Maybe it was to force that American, Jed, to have some sort of honor. He would hold him to his promise, no matter how mockingly it had been made.

"Him?"

"No."

"Him?"

"No."

"Him?"

"That's a girl."

"Is it really?"

"Yes."

"Poor girl. She has my pity."

Jed and Nathan were playing a strange version of eye spy, trying to find the last member of Nathan's Delusion, as Jed insisted on calling it. Zane was laying on the hill, blowing dandelions, humming. He looked to be lost in thought. And Keenan was standing watching everything. Overly aware of the time marching by.

"I need to go." He said finally. The other three all turned to look at him. "My superiors are expecting me at 7:30, and I refuse to be late. It is now 6:25, I need to get home."

"Wow. He said multiple sentences." Jed glanced at Keenan, "Mate, whatever they pay you, it is not enough."

"Keep the 'mates' to yourself."

"Would you prefer 'dude'?"

Keenan didn't deign to answer, instead he gave Nathan a pointed look. Nathan sighed, "Give him ten more minutes, if he hasn't arrived, I'll admit defeat and have my head examined."

Jed smirked and Keenan decided that was fair enough. "Fine. Ten more minutes and then we all go back to our lives."

"But we are not technically out of our lives." Zane pointed out, bored with being silent.

Five minutes later, and Nathan was feeling nervous. The stars had not said anything about this. Admittedly, what they said was never clear. For instance, today, all he glimpsed were four shadowy figures meeting him. And this morning he had been going by feeling and bravado. The maddening thing about it was that he was almost certain that he had once had more powers than this flimsy ability. A long, long time ago. Unlike most people, he had always believed that he personally had had a past life. No, his problem was not of belief, but remembering.

But where was the last figure?

He frowned, about to call the whole thing off, when he was distracted by a screeching whirlwind that ran down the path parallel to where they stood. It took him a moment to distinguish what it was shouting.

"I'm late. I am so very, very late! I can't get a detention today! It just isn't fair!"

Nathan watched what he now saw was a blonde girl running down the park path. 'And,' he noted, 'that man reading a book doesn't seem to notice her.' As the laws of physics require when two objects travel on the same path in opposite directions, they will inevitably collide. And this collision had a loud aftermath.

"Again!" The black haired man shouted, picking the book up from where it fell. "What is it Odango-Atama? Do you have a built in tracker that directs you straight at me?"

"What about you, jerk? Why don't you ever get out of the way? Do you enjoy running into me?"

"I was busy, reading my book. Common Sense, as in, you have none. Why are you even in the park anyway? This isn't on your normal path of destruction."

The girl opened her mouth, perhaps to answer or perhaps to insult the man, when the sound of school bells distracted her.

"Oh no! I don't have time for this! I am so very, very late!"

The girl picked herself up and continued her mad dash, presumably to school.. The man stood staring after her for a few moments before shrugging and returning to his book.

"It's him." Nathan breathed.

Zane hopped to his feet, "Who?"

Nathan pointed to the man and Zane nearly shouted, "I know him!"

"You do?" Nathan asked.

"Err." Scuffing his toe, Zane looked abashed, "No, but I really, really feel I should. It's weird isn't it, I've never seen him before in my life, yet I feel as though he is a part of me already."

"I understand," Keenan said unexpectedly, "I feel as though I'd die for him."

"Sorry to interrupt." Jed interrupted, not sounding sorry at all. "But if you don't move, you'll probably never meet him. Oh, and for future reference, I feel nothing of what you guys do."

The four nodded to each other and took off in a sprint after the black haired man. Keenan, Nathan, and Zane because they all felt they had to. Jed because he had nothing better to do than assuage his morbid curiosity about how it would all turn out.

It had happened again. This was not good. Not good at all. The first time he had blacked out, Mamoru had attributed it to stress. The second time was coincidence. But the black outs were now happening no less than three times a week and were obviously getting worse. Case in point, waking up in the park this morning.

That didn't even begin to cover the mysterious bruises and scrapes he had been finding all over his body. If he had to take a guess, he'd say that he was getting the crap beaten out of him. And, apparently, healing extraordinarily quickly.

"What's happening to me?" he asked the air around him. Not expecting or even wanting an answer. But, the way his life was going right now, he got one, of course.

"Well, right now you are about to be pulled into a mad man's fantasy. Where two of our cast feel that they know you even though they have never met you. Our director talks to balls of gas commonly known as stars, and I am just a hapless bystander who got pulled into all of this by mistake."

Mamoru whirled around, and found four men he had never seen before. The man who spoke was apparently the one with short blond hair, as two of his three companions were glaring at him.

The brown haired man cleared his throat, "I don't suppose that you have any sort of recognition of any of us?"

Mamoru was about to snap that of course he didn't recognize any of them, when he paused to actually think about the question.

"Come to think of it, you all do seem kind of familiar. Especially you." He said to the man who had spoken first. The man just smirked at him in blatant disbelief.

"It's true!" Mamoru cried grabbing the man's hand. A shock waved through them and a small light flashed between their hands. Startled, they threw each other's hand down.

After a moment, the blond cleared his throat, "Endymion?"

Mamoru stared at the man, "No, I'm Chiba Mamoru."

"Of course you are." the man muttered to himself, "Well, Mamoru, I know this is kind of forward, but can you clasp hands with Kunzite and the others?"

The brown-haired man turned to the blond and asked somewhat incredulously, "You believe me now?"

The blond laughed darkly, "Oh yes, Nephrite, I believe you. But, I want it on the record that I still think your a nut. And not in the good way."

The brown haired man nodded and was about to turn away when something seemed to occur to him, "What did you call me?"

"Never mind, Nathan, just shake the nice man's hand and say how do ya do."

Nathan walked over to Mamoru and purposefully grabbed his hand. After a similar shock and light as before, Nathan glanced at the blond, shaking his head as though to clear it. "Jadeite, why weren't you the first convinced, your power..."

The blond man shushed him, "I'll explain after prince charming wakes those two."

"Fascinating." the boy with long blond hair said before springing forward and grasping Mamoru's hand. Again, a shock and light appeared, and the boy backed away muttering, "Absolutely fascinating."

After giving his three companions piercing looks, the silver haired man strode forward and repeated the process of the other three. He glanced at Mamoru before straightening his shoulders and saying, "Zoicite, report. What just happened?"

The long blond haired boy stepped forward, "To put it simply, our past caught up with us, Kunzite. We died and were reborn with no memory of our past life. Endymion's touch acted as a catalyst to bring some of our memories forward. We have an instinctive need to protect him, so when we saw him he was familiar, and when we touched him, we remembered some of the past."

Kunzite nodded before snapping his gaze to the other blond, "Why didn't you feel it Jadeite?"

Jadeite shrugged and tapped his forehead. "I'm an empath. It was a protective mechanism from when I was small to block out all things psychic. Apparently including reincarnation vibrations. Speaking of our powers, I seem to remember having a lot more."

Nathan cleared his throat, "As do I. I don't know for sure why this is true. But, my guess would be that we won't fully return until Enymion wakes up."

The four reincarnated men turned to Mamoru who was, by this point, backing away slowly.

"Chiba-san, wait." Kunzite commanded. Mamoru stopped, his spine straightening automatically. "You said you recognized us, do you trust us?"

Thinking for a moment, he nodded his head slowly, "A little."

"Good. Will you accompany us to my apartment?"

Mamoru hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.

"Nice place you got, Kunzite. I gotta tell you, you look so bizarre with your hair cut." Jadeite called, flopping onto Keenan's couch.

Keenan ignored him and headed for his phone. Dialing the number from memory, he surveyed the four men invading his apartment. He knew everything and nothing about these men, but still they were more family than his father had ever been.

"Manabe." A voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Sir, this is O'Callahan, I'm afraid that I've taken ill and won't be coming in."

"Fever?"

"Yes, sir. 102 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Contagious?"

"Very."

"Alright. Take the whole weekend, I want you in tip top shape Monday morning."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

When he hung up the phone, Keenan realized three of the four men were staring at him. He shifted, slightly uncomfortable.

"I don't know what is stranger, Kunzite lying or calling somebody else 'sir'." Jadeite remarked from the couch.

Nephrite and Zoicite nodded in agreement, while Mamoru just stood there looking as if he felt foolish.

"Sit." he told the three standing men, slightly irritated. "And call me Keenan, O'Callahan, or preferably sir, it isn't the Silver Millennium anymore."

"Oh yeah," Zoicite said, "We should introduce ourselves properly, especially since Endymion has no idea who we are. I'll go first. I'm Zane Wilder, Zoicite in the Silver Millennium. I'm CEO of Zaney Electronics and currently working on two degrees."

Smiling at everyone, he sat down next to Jadeite's feet.

"Hi there, Jed Johnson here. Jadeite of the great SM. I'm just a lowly college student working on a degree in psychology."

"What?" he added noticing their stares.

"Why are you of all people going into psychology?" Nephrite asked shocked.

"So I can screw with people's minds, in more than one way."

Zane and Nephrite groaned in unison, "Should have seen that one coming." Zane muttered to himself.

"I'm Nathan Stone, Nephrite, and I am taking a break from studying theater."

Jed snickered, "Only you would be lazy enough to take a break from a degree in theater."

"Would you make more or less fun of me if I said the stars told me to?"

"More. Definitely more."

"Then, please, forget I said anything."

Keenan stepped forward, "Lieutenant Sergeant Keenan O'Callahan of the British Special Forces. Head General Kunzite of Prince Endymion's guards."

Mamoru got up and said firmly, "Clearly, I am not a part of whatever you guys are. So I think I'll just be leaving."

"No!" all four men said, and Zane hurried to explain, "I promise you are a part of this. Just listen to our story." Glancing at his companions, "Who should tell it?"

"Well, you'd probably put in too much technical language and philosophical musings to be helpful. Nathan would make it even more insane with all his mysticism, and Keenan would only give the barest minimum of information. Therefore, I elect me. Any objections? None? Good. Sit down, Mamoru, this may take a while. Ahem.

"Once upon a time, a completely obvious way to start, but the most accurate. You see, our story takes place long before the Egyptians and cavemen. Long before the dinosaurs and primordial soup, as it is called. Scientists have long theorized that the Earth goes through periods of progress and periods of entropy, and that sometimes cataclysmic events occur that skip entropy to start over again with progress. That is what happened between the Silver Millennium and our own. Something happened that very nearly destroyed the world.

"But, that is the end of our tale. As any tale worth hearing begins, this one begins with a war. Before the cataclysmic event, CE for short, Earth was not the only planet that thrived. There were the intelligent Mercurians, the sexy Venusians, the passionate Marians, the wild Jupiterians, the dedicated Neptunesians, the warring Uranusians, the serious Saturnians, the mysterious Plutians, and the ethereal Lunarians. These nine together formed an alliance to fight off a great evil. Only we Earthlings stood alone. But, since those nine planets kept the evil far enough away, we never had to prove we could stand alone. As a result of our refusal to join the Silver Alliance as it was called and, as they saw it, free ride, trade with our planet grew increasingly difficult. They slapped so many taxes on their exports to us that it was like paying nine hundred dollars for a slice of cheese. This meant, of course, we fell behind technologically.

"Fast forward to half a century after the war, trade is almost non-existent and the uneducated lay person begins to consider the idea of other life forms as a myth. This, Mamoru, is where we need you to suspend your disbelief. Back in the Silver Millennium, Earth was one kingdom with four quadrants: North, South, East, and West. King Cronum III and Queen Terra were the Earth's rulers, while the quadrants were ruled by lesser royalty. King Thor and Queen Sif of the North. King Kokopelli and Queen Ravena of the West. King Ra and Queen Isis of the South, and King Tammuz and Queen Ishtar of the East. We four, were there sons and heirs, I was Prince Jadeite of the West. Keenan was Prince Kunzite of the North, Zane was Prince Zoicite of the East, and Nathan was Prince Nephrite of the South. And you, my friend, were Prince Endymion, crown prince of the Earth. No, don't give me that look, just let me finish.

"Anyways, we four lesser princes left our homes at a young age to join your family in Elysia. Now, this was all very unprecedented as the prince's guard was chosen by the fires at Delphi, and almost always came from noble families or even, on occasion, commoners. It was unheard of for the quadrant princes to be chosen. Apparently, this caused a mass panic. Some claimed that it was the end of the world, while others said it was the beginning of our rise to universal authority. Most changed their minds with each change of the wind. But, by the time we were aware of what was going on, things had calmed and we were generally accepted throughout the kingdom. There were still a few of those apocalyptic nuts, but honestly, they're still around. They breed worse then cockroaches. But, part of the reason for the furor still stood, if we had to guard you for the rest of our lives, who would rule our quadrants. Eventually it was decided that we would still rule, but from a distance, only to visit once a year with you in tow. Conveniently, this also answered the growing concern that our monarchs in Elysia were growing too aloof.

"Around this time, and unbeknownst to us, the Silver Alliance had an eerily similar problem. When the Sailor Senshi were chosen, they were all the crown princesses of their respective planets. This was especially bad because like us, the Inner Senshi had a duty to be at the moon princess' side at all times. Apparently, though, they came to a similar solution to ours. The Outer Senshi, on the other hand, had less trouble because they are supposed to stay on the rims of the solar system most of the time.

"Now, this is where my memories are fuzzy. We were around twenty when something changed. I'm almost certain that we met the princesses of the Silver Alliance, but I don't know how or even why. But, something happened that led to the great CE. We need to know what. As for the Sailor Scouts, hell, we don't even know if the ones in the news these days are the princesses reincarnated or other people entirely. It is all so frustrating. You guys got anything to add?"

Keenan, Nathan, and Zane all shook there heads, and Mamoru waited for somebody to shout, "Gotcha!" When none of them did, he felt annoyed. Very annoyed.

"Look it, I don't know what game you are playing, but I am definitely not interested. Now, what I am going to do is do what I should have done from the beginning and leave."

"Wait!"

"You can't do that!"

"We need you!"

Mamoru was willing to ignore these simultaneous pleas, even though it almost felt like he was ripping an appendage off, but Keenan's cool voice stopped him.

"You don't like something so you leave, is that it? Are you really so selfish? Then perhaps you are right, and we need to continue searching."

"I could have told you that I am not prince material. But, it is not a matter of liking or disliking. It is a matter of belief, and the truth is that I don't believe you."

"So you require proof, hmm? Zane could tell you your IQ, Jed could tell you your personality traits, Keenan could tell you your strengths in combat, and I could tell you something that no one else knows."

Mamoru shrugged, "You can try but I doubt it would help."

"136."

Mamoru blinked at Zane before murmuring, "Lucky guess."

"How about this?" Jed called, "You have a love-hate relationship with the idea of leadership, power, and authority. You enjoy it and are naturally good at it, but you are terrified of becoming tyrannical. Your sense of humor is more subtle than most, but you can get into practical jokes. You never yell when you are truly angry, instead your voice becomes quiet and intense. You don't let people under your guard easily, so I doubt you have many friends, but you really care about people. I would guess that your career angles toward some sort of service to others. Oh, and you prefer whiskey or even beer to wine." Jed smiled slightly as he finished.

His mouth worked for a moment before he could say, "You are studying psychology, right? So I attribute most of your accuracy to that. That last bit was a guess."

"Superior at all blades. Less skilled with bows. Very good at hand to hand combat, but needs to remember to watch the opponent's lower half as well as the upper."

Mamoru had no excuse to give, instead he turned to Nathan knowing that what ever he said would determine Mamoru's next move.

"The stars tell me that every night you dream of a blonde princess who asks you to help her."

Feeling faint, Mamoru slid back into the chair he had taken earlier. Nathan was right, no one else could possibly know that because Mamoru had never told anyone. Running a hand through his hair, he groaned and looked each man in the eye before admitting defeat.

"Let me get this straight, we are all reincarnated royalty from an era nobody remembers."

"That's it." Zane confirmed, bobbing his head.

"I need a drink." Mamoru muttered into his hand before looking up, "I hope you realize that I need time to process all this. Can we call it quits for now?"

"We can, but how big's your apartment?" Jed asked unexpectedly.

"Two bed, two bath. Why?"

"Because I am moving in with you."

"What?"

"I'm moving in with you."

"And when, may I ask, did you decide this?" Mamoru asked trying to hint subtly.

Unfortunately, Jed had always been one to ignore subtle hints, when it suited him. "About two seconds ago." Actually, it was more like twenty minutes ago.

"Why do you want to move in with me? And what makes you think I'll even let you?"

"Oh you'll let me. Besides, my roommate sucks, and I don't imagine that I am his favorite person either. Besides, I already know that we are well suited to living together. It comes of sharing a palace. Plus, it will make us, as your guards feel better."

The other three nodded in agreement, after Nathan and Zane's mouths had snapped shut. They had forgotten how unpredictable Jadeite could be, and it looked like his modern counterpart was no better. But, really, it was for the best that at least one of them was close to him.

"You aren't going to let me say no, are you?"

"Nope." Jed seemed unconcerned by his utter failure in the art of social niceties.

"You know what? I don't even care anymore. I'm to tired to argue. Besides, fate is already hinting by the fact that I grabbed two keys this morning. This is my address and phone number. The rest of you exchange yours."

So saying, Mamoru flipped a key onto the table and swept out the door, not hearing Jed shout, "Stop it with the fate thing!" and Nathan's self-satisfied murmur, "I told you so."

Author Notes:

Wow. This is really, really long for me, and I have just begun. This fanfic chapter is longer than most my stories.

As a side note, Nathan is completely wrong as to why their powers won't manifest completely.

You know, Jed really won't shut up.

Oh yes, listy thing of character stats:

Nathan/Nephrite: 6'1; 21

Keenan/Kunzite: 6'3; 22

Jed/Jadeite: 5'8; 21

Zane/Zoicite: 5'5; 19

Mamoru/Endymion/TK: 6'0; 19

Yes, the girls will be in this as well, just not for a while:

Rei: 5'6; 17

Makoto: 5'8; 17

Mina: 5'4; 16

Usagi: 5'4; 16

Amy: 5'2; 16


	2. Getting to Know You

Yay, thanks to my reviewers. Don't worry Kunzite will get his hair back the first time he transforms. I can't really imagine him without it either.

* * *

When Mamoru finally opened the door, if only to save it from the insistent banging, he was unsurprised to see Jed on his doorstep. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that patience is a virtue?"

"She tried, the poor dear, but it just never quite took."

He sighed and gestured for Jed to come in. "You know, I was kind of hoping that this morning was a hallucination."

"No such luck." Jed chirped cheerfully and threw a backpack on the couch and place a large duffel bag on the ground next to it.

"Is that all?"

"A man doesn't need more. Materialism is not really my thing."

"Ah."

Jed collapsed onto a chair before turning a suspiciously innocent face to Mamoru, "So I got out of my dorm at the right time. Apparently, it doesn't endear you to your roommate to force him to wet the bed, jump start his hang over, drop a bucket of water on his head, and make it so he trips when he leaves the room." Seeing Mamoru's worried look, he added, "Don't worry, he deserved it. He was an idiot and a drunk. I only do the really bad stuff to those who deserve it."

"Thanks, I think."

Jed grinned, "So, my liege, what's on the agenda for the day?"

"Don't call me that, and I don't know what you are doing, but I am going for coffee."

"That sounds lovely. Thanks for inviting me."

Deciding against pointing out that he had done no such thing, Mamoru ushered Jed out the door. Jed was not the typed of person that ordinary logic would work on.

"Where do you go for a decent cup of joe in this city? Because I have got to tell you, I've been here a month and found nary a place. If I was less lazy, I would have resorted to making my own."

Mamoru just let him talk, it was clear that Jed was one of those people. Those who babbled unconcernedly when confronted with a nerve-wracking situation. Or it could be that Jed just liked to hear himself talk.

Motoki's Arcade was fairly empty when Jed and Mamoru entered. The owner was wiping glasses instead of the counter for a change of pace. He looked up at the door's ringing and nearly dropped the glass he was holding when he saw that his friend was not alone.

"Mamoru. Who's this? Who is it?"

"My new roommate."

"Oh, you didn't tell me you were looking for a roommate. Why didn't you ask me, your bestest friend in the whole wide world?" Motoki fumed.

"Maybe because you already have an apartment that you very nearly share with Reika?"

"Yeah, but that's besides the point." Motoki said as though this were the most obvious thing in the world. "Anyway, does your roommate have a name?"

"Motoki, Jed. Jed, Motoki." He gave Motoki a suffering look that clearly asked if he was happy.

But, before anyone could say anything else, the door rang again, and a voice called out, "Motoki-onee-san! It's me, your favorite customer, and I am in need of a double chocolate shake, pronto!"

Motoki grinned, "Usagi, it's always a pleasure. A double chocolate, huh? Bad day?"

"No, a really, really good one! And I figure a double chocolate shake will make it doubly better!" the blonde girl said skipping up to the counter.

Mamoru glared at the girl, "What are you doing here? Did they decide to kick you out of school for your abysmal grades?"

The girl tensed before turning with what she obviously thought was a menacing scowl, "Jerk, in your stupidity, you may not have realized that today was the last day before summer break, so we had a half-day." turning back to Motoki, she added, "And that automatically makes it a great day! Plus, Haruna-sensei had a date, so she didn't give me a detention for being late this morning."

"Only you would be late on the last day of school."

"That's not true." She shouted, "Plenty of people were late. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have got some Sailor V ass to kick."

With a nod to Motoki, she flounced her way over to the game, never having noticed Jed. Who had watched the entire interaction with fascination.

"You call that flirting?" he shook his head in disappointment.

Mamoru glared at him, "No, I call that being annoyed and arguing with an irresponsible little girl."

Jed raised his eyebrows, "Whatever you say mate." He glanced at Motoki who mouthed, 'Just watch, it gets better.'

Sure enough, a few moments later, Mamoru wandered over to the Sailor V game, breaking Usagi's concentration, and sparking another argument. Jed watched in disbelief as through out the afternoon, the two got into numerous fights. He watched as they wouldn't leave each other alone. When Mamoru sat down to read, Usagi would invariably come over to call him dull. When Usagi ordered food, Mamoru was perpetually there to comment on her eating habits. If they had nothing else to bicker about, Mamoru would pull her hair and insult her odangos, and Usagi would point to his green jacket and call him color blind or without taste.

Later that afternoon, Motoki and Jed were sitting companionably, each finding an easy friend in the other. Suddenly, Jed gestured towards Mamoru and Usagi who were standing next to the claw machine, taunting each other as a change from arguing. "Are they always like this?"

Motoki nodded, "Always. I've thought of giving them a schedule for when they are allowed to come into the Arcade, but I'd miss the entertainment. As would my patrons."

Jed glanced around and saw that indeed they were not the only ones watching the two combatants. "Why don't they notice all the people watching?" he murmured, half to himself.

"They're too involved in each other. I've tested it. One day I made all my customers come in wearing orange after they started and they never noticed. Another time, I announced on a megaphone that the counter would now only serve alcoholic beverages. Nada. More recently, I was bored, so my girlfriend and I stood next to them and exaggerated every move they made. Again, no reaction."

Jed grinned, "And yet they claim that they aren't flirting with each other?"

"Oh no. They wouldn't, would they? They think that they loathe each other with every fiber of their being." Motoki tried to smirk, but ended up smiling jovially, "I've tested that, too. They both display jealousy and protectiveness." He eyed Jed speculatively, "You want to see?"

"Of course."

Motoki leaned back and called, "Hey, Suzuki-san. Come here." A startlingly handsome man got up from a nearby booth. "Are you and your girlfriend ready for that experiment I suggested?" the man nodded his head and winked at a blond woman who could pass for a model.

"As you can see, our kind volunteers bear a general resemblance to the test subjects. This is to determine if physical preference is a factor." Motoki explained in a faux-scientific tone, "In my last version, my volunteers were both brown haired, brown eyed. For my next, they will resemble the opposite test subject. That is, the man will be blond and the woman will be black haired, both with blue eyes."

Suzuki-san waited until Mamoru and Usagi parted, before stalking up to her. Mamoru had rejoined Motoki and Jed, and was just sipping his now tepid coffee, when Usagi's laugh rang through the arcade. His gaze snapped to her. He felt irritated when he saw her talking to a man. He harrumphed and at Motoki's raised eyebrow, said, "She's being too noisy, again."

He raised his mug to his lips, not realizing that his gaze was boring into the couple. So intense was his focus, that he didn't notice the blonde woman until she tripped over him. As she apologized, Mamoru gave her an appraising look before telling her that it was quite alright. 'She was almost beautiful' he mused, 'if there was less brown in her hair, and she wasn't so tall.' Occupied by his thoughts, he didn't notice the wink that she gave Motoki. Glancing at Usagi, he muttered, "He's way too old for her. Besides, if he is interested in the Odango, he's certifiable."

Jed and Motoki watched as Mamoru walked to the bathroom, muttering to himself. "Did you see that?" Jed asked, "He looked at that blond as though she were a prime rib, and when she didn't meet her requirements, he turned away."

"Yep, and looked at his prize prime rib." Motoki flicked his eyes to Usagi, "Too old, indeed. Suzuki-san is nineteen, just like he is. Three years isn't long, especially when you get older. Now, shh. You'll soon see Usagi exhibiting similar behavior."

That was true, Jed had been noting her numerous glances at their table. Glances that mystifyingly alternated with Mamoru's. Like clock work, neither saw the other looking. Eventually, Usagi smiled vaguely at Suzuki-san, waved, and walked up to Motoki. Still, she paid no attention to Jed, instead, leaned over the counter, "Hey, Motoki, who was that blond girl? Your girlfriend?" she asked, none too subtly. Jed snorted into his coffee silently.

Motoki shook his head, "You've met Reika, Usagi. Remember, the gorgeous brunette?"

Usagi winked playfully, "I just wondered, because if you'd broken up with Reika, there is hope for the rest of us poor females."

"Why would anyone ever want to date you, Odango-Atama?" Mamoru came up glaring slightly at both Motoki and Usagi.

She stuck her tongue out at him, said goodbye to Motoki, and waltzed out the door. Actually, it was more like tripped out the door.

"You shouldn't encourage her, Motoki." Mamoru hissed. "Not when you are happy with Reika."

"Encourage her?" Motoki said blankly.

"Encourage her childish crush on you. That's why she comes here so often."

"Is it? I thought it was the Sailor V game and superior milkshakes."

"No, she told me before you introduced us."

"She told _you_?"

"I suppose it was closer to yelling that I'd never measure up to you, or some such nonsense."

Motoki laughed, but catching a glimpse of Mamoru's scowl, he quickly said, "No need to worry about my encouraging her. She told me a couple weeks ago that she used to have a crush on me, but has since decided that I make a better older brother."

Mamoru blushed slightly and muttered something about the whole thing being stupid anyway. The three men sat companionably for a while, when Mamoru felt the beginnings of a headache. Pulling out some money, he got up. "I'm going to leave you two. I'm starting to get a headache. Maybe you should check your beans, Motoki, this is the third time this week."

"Maybe you should drink less coffee."

As Mamoru walked out of the arcade, Motoki winked at Jed, "And that is a portrait of two people deep in denial."

Jed nodded slowly, his mind was eons away. 'Do I remember Endy knowing and acting like this around anyone? I'll have to ask the others, but I don't think so.' He paid and wandered out of the arcade, lost in thought. He didn't see a cloaked figure racing across the rooftops above his head.

The library had very little good information on reincarnation, Zane discovered. His assumption had been that it could not possibly have happened only once. Scientists believed as an underlying truth that there was no such thing as a true anomaly. In this case, Zane tended to agree with them.

But, none of these books had anything other than delusional belief and capitalism at its best.

This had turned out to be a massive waste of a day. Shortly after Endymion...no...Mamoru had left Keenan's apartment, the others had parted and he had come here.

Leaving the library, Zane pulled out his cell phone, nearly hitting a small girl with blue hair. After apologizing without really paying attention, he flipped the phone open. He had been surprised earlier to find that the others all had cell phones too. Apparently, the princes of the Earth had done well in this life. Both Jed and Nathan's parents were rich while Keenan scored a high paying job. Zane, himself, made loads off his electronics. He used his own invention of speed dial to call Nathan.

"Moshi moshi."

"Nathan, it's Zane. You up for a Shitennou meeting?"

"I'd say we just had one, but I've dug up some stuff on the Sailor Senshi."

"Okay, I'll call Keenan and make sure he is okay with it. I'll let you know the when and the where."

Zane hung up and pressed two for Keenan (one was reserved for Mamoru, once Zane made sure that the number he had left was, in fact, for a cell phone.)

"O'Callahan."

"You know, in Japan it is customary to answer by saying "moshi moshi.""

"Not in the military."

"Ah."

"Is there a reason you are wasting my minutes?" Keenan finally asked after a long silence.

"Shitennou meeting, tonight."

"When?"

"Pick a time. Also a place."

"My apartment at six."

Keenan hung up and Zane was left staring at his cell phone, listening to the dial tone. "Somebody needs a refresher course in phoning etiquette." he muttered to himself before relaying the information to Nathan. Then he attempted to get a hold of Jed, with no luck. Cursing, he left a message on his voice mail.

Jed had stopped by his new and Mamoru's old apartment, and just happened to check the answering machine. Looking at the clock, he decided fifteen minutes was enough time to get there and warrant a stop by the store.

So, of course, he was late. Not that he particularly cared, but he shuddered at the look Kunzite, no, Keenan, would give him. Oh well. He'd survive it. Probably.

As his hands were full, Jed gave up knocking exuberantly for kicking the door exuberantly. After a few moments, Keenan pulled the door open, his face as close to a scowl as Jed could ever recall seeing it.

"Don't break my door."

"Ah, Keenan. Don't worry. Your door is nearly as stiff and solid as you, I'm not gonna break it."

Keenan gave him a cold stare before letting him through the door.

"Be nice, I come bearing...Is that pizza I smell?"

"I brought some!" Zane said bounding into the room.

"Kid, has anyone ever told you that you are way too excitable?" Nathan asked coming from the opposite direction, looking at Jed he added, "You should see the bathroom, Jacuzzi tub and a surround shower."

"Anyway, Jed." Zane very nearly squealed, "What did you come bearing?"

"Beer. I came bearing beer."

Nathan and Zane cheered while Keenan just shook his head.

"You know," Jed said conversationally while handing Zane a beer, "Serving you beer really loses something when not back home in the good old US of A."

"Why?" Zane asked curiously.

"Because it's not illegal here. At home, you would still be a minor even though you are also an adult."

"You Yanks are weird."

"Tell me about it. You should see what our Puritan roots do. Mindless violence is alright, but God forbid you flash a boob on national television."

"Not that our cultural differences aren't fascinating," Nathan interrupted, "But perhaps we should get to business."

Keenan led them to the living room, and claimed two slices of cheese pizza before Zane, Jed, and Nathan fell on the boxes like ravenous wolves.

"So," Zane said, his mouth full, "I went to the library..."

"Surprise, surprise." Jed interjected and Nathan backhanded him, motioning for Zane to continue.

"And I found out that there are no verifiable cases of reincarnation."

The other three stared at him for a few moments before Jed snorted. "Zane, you know that we all love you and generally think that you are a genius, right?" Zane nodded somewhat bemusedly, "Well, don't take this personally, but sometimes you can be so _blonde_. How, pray tell, is anybody supposed to verify reincarnation?"

Zane thought for a moment before turning bright red and sheepishly muttering, "Oh, right." He slumped back in his chair, trying to avoid their eyes. Keenan didn't look at him, but clasped his shoulder for a moment before retracting his hand.

"In other news, Operation Invade Mamoru/Endymion's Life is a success."

"Is that what that was?" Nathan demanded.

Waving a hand to shush him, Jed continued, "Do any of you remember a girl that Endymion was constantly bickering with, but just couldn't seem to leave alone?"

The Shitennou shook their heads, "Neither could I. So the question is, is she a new player or someone we are all forgetting?"

He sat down and Nathan began, "I've done some looking into the matter of the Senshi. Since January there have been numerous sightings of these girls. Thus far, there are four: Sailors Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Moon. I don't ever recall hearing about a senshi from the Moon during the Silver Millennium. And, the stars are not forth coming on this matter. Other than the mystery of Sailor Moon, where is Sailor Venus? The outer senshi are missing as well, but they've always kept to themselves, at least, according to legend."

Keenan rubbed his chin, "So, we have not one but two new players, five missing ones, a prince without memory, and no idea why or how we have been reincarnated. Is that it?"

"Yes, that about sums it up." Nathan agreed.

"Brilliant."

They sat in silence, each pondering the impossibility of the situation.

"I've got a question," Zane said suddenly, "Why were we gathered together? I mean, I can't see any other way for us to be in that park this morning. I, for one, almost never go there."

The others shrugged and Nathan, sounding rather fed up, answered, "How many times do I have to tell you? Fate."

"Sorry, mate, but believing in fate is something new to the rest of us."

"Why do you keep saying 'mate'? I didn't think that was an Americanism." Zane asked curiously.

"It's not. The answer, in a word, is habit. My parents tell me that we watched an Australian film when I was six or so, and evidently, I liked the word so much that I started saying it all the time. As of yet, I haven't spared the effort to drop it. Just think of it as one of my numerous idiosyncrasies."

"My question is, what do we do, now that we are back together." Nathan said, and automatically looked at Keenan.

"We wait and see what happens, and in the mean time, start training as much as we can."

"Should we aid the Senshi against the monsters?"

"We don't yet know if they are enemies or allies, and they seem to be doing well enough on their own. So until we know for sure or the world is really in danger, we need to concentrate on getting back in shape."

"Do you have a regimen in mind?" Zane asked knowing well that Keenan had probably spent the afternoon working it out.

"Starting tomorrow, I expect you all to accompany me on my morning run. And in the evening, we'll meet for the rest of training."

"Where?" Jed asked almost sardonically, "It's not like most places will allow us to start using big, hulking swords versus the foils that fencers use now a days."

"My gym."

"Your gym? You own a gym?" Jed asked and at Keenan's slight incline of his head, muttered, "You would. Tell me, oh fearless leader, do you ever go out and do anything fun?"

As usual, Keenan ignored his flippancy and Jed, turned away and looked at his fellow generals. Noticing Zane tapping his lip thoughtfully, asked, "What'cha thinking Zane?"

The boy started slightly and a sheepish smile spread across his face, "I just emotionally realized something."

"What?"

"We all died."

"And?"

"You don't understand: we _died_. And at a young age. That's a memory that one day we will probably have to remember, and I really doubt that our deaths were pleasant."

Meanwhile, in the Negaverse:

"You have failed me for the last time, Jadeite. I banish you for all eternity."

Queen Beryl waved her hands and the blond general was encased in stone. Horror and resignation marked his face, while deep in his eyes, there was the smallest spark of relief. Tossing Jadeite over the palace walls, Beryl smiled viciously before calling, "You are in charge of gathering energy now, Nephrite."

A somber brown haired man, dressed in a gray uniform, bowed to his queen and murmured, "You honor me and can count on me, my queen. Jadeite was a fool. He gathered too many people's energy at once and drew too much attention to himself. I will gather energy one person at a time, when the stars tell me that their energy has peaked."

"Do not fail me, Nephrite."

Nephrite bowed again and smartly marched from the throne room. The room was now silent except for the hair raising sound of Beryl's dark chuckle.

"Find the Ginzuishou. Please. Find the Ginzuishou." The princess pleaded as the mist surrounded her and whisked her away. He felt panic fill him and ran toward where he had last glimpsed her. She was gone and he felt as though his heart was breaking.

Mamoru sat up gasping. He had had this dream over and over for years, yet every time the princess disappeared, the dread that filled him would invariably wake him up. Her words ringing in his ears.

He groaned and flopped back down on the couch. Wait, couch? Springing to his feet, he glared at the couch as though it were to blame. How had he gotten there? Last he remembered, he was walking away from the arcade. He furrowed his brow and pondered. Finally, it clicked in his sleep muddled mind that he had had another black out. Crap. This was the first time that it had ever happened twice on the same day.

The front door squeaked open and Mamoru's head snapped up. Jed entered with an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. But, spotting Mamoru, he grinned, only a hint of solemnity hidden in his eyes.

"Hey, Chiba, where've you been?"

"On the couch." Mamoru said, praying that it was true.

"Sorry, mate, but I was here five minutes ago, I just left to get the mail, and you most certainly were not on that couch." he said flourishing the hand that Mamoru now saw held a bundle of envelopes.

"I wasn't."

"Nope."

Mamoru groaned again. Damn it. That meant that he was doing something when he blacked out, because he knew for a fact that he was heading home before it. And if it took, he glanced at his watch, an hour and a half to get home from the arcade, then there was something he was doing in between the two. He looked at Jed, who tossed the mail on the counter and shuffled toward the fridge.

"I don't know what it is about beer," he said conversationally, "But after I drink it, I am exceptionally thirsty for the next few hours.

Mamoru watched as Jed leaned his head back and chugged orange juice that Mamoru didn't remember having.

A thought niggled at the back of his mind. Maybe these black outs weren't as new of a problem as he thought. Even though he didn't fully believe their story, wasn't it worth a shot to ask, and maybe find that his guardians had a solution.

"Jed?" Mamoru said tentatively, Jed cocked his head at him. He had known that there was something on Mamoru's mind. Endymion too would get that extremely pensive look on his face when he was about to talk to somebody about a problem. Almost as though he had to talk himself into telling anyone else.

"Yep?"

"Was Endymion...er...I prone to blacking out in the Silver Millennium?"

Jed laughed, "Not at all. You didn't even pass out this one time Zoicite had to pull a broken sword out of your leg. You've always had a high pain tolerance and been extremely healthy." His gaze sharpened when he saw Mamoru's disheartened look. "Why? Have you been blacking out now?"

Mamoru's face shuttered, he regretted bringing it up. "No." he said shortly.

Jed shrugged, knowing that Mamoru was lying. But, Endymion had always been to proud to show any weakness. It spoke volumes to how much Mamoru instinctively trusted him that he had been able to ask that question. Pressing now would do more damage than good. He would let it go so that he didn't smash that fragile instinct of trust. 'Give him time to get used to trusting me.' Endymion really had not changed over the whole dying and being reborn thing. Then again, Jed mused, neither had anyone else, really. He knew that he most certainly hadn't, and he had the most flexible personality of the lot. Both Kunzite and Endymion hated change with a vengeance. Nephrite had never liked it, it made him uncomfortable. Only Zoicite and he could stand it, and Zoicite just barely.

Tossing the empty carton into the trash, Jed turned back to Mamoru, "So, what do you think of morning runs?"

"I'm, uh, fine with them, I guess. I go on one every other morning."

"Splendid, so you won't mind joining us on morning runs." It wasn't a question.

"Someday you'll meet someone who is going to beat you up for assuming that they will go along with your schemes."

"Undoubtedly."

"I hope it's sooner rather than later, and I hope I am there to see it."

"Oh, did I get the prince's panties in a twist?"

As Jed had calculated, Mamoru launched himself at him and wrestled him to the ground. When he had him pinned, Mamoru realized what he had done and was about to get off him when Jed smirked and flipped him over.

"Mamoru, did you forget the most important lesson? Never let your guard down."

Giving Mamoru a patronizing pat on the cheek, Jed got off him and went into his bedroom as though nothing had happened. As he shut the door, Jed gave himself a self satisfied smile, 'That should get his mind off his worries for a few minutes. What I really wish is that it wasn't almost eight at night, so I might be able to stage a meeting between him and his Odango-Atama.' he thought before shaking his head, and he got down to the business of unpacking his bags. Which took about two seconds, all he did was dump it on the floor. 'There, just like home.'

Keenan wondered what it was about his life right now that he was having to deal with so many people who were so...full of personality. He was standing in the middle of the park, again, and was starting to think that maybe this park was best avoided. But that just seemed superstitious. It wasn't as though anything bad had come from meeting people in parks, in fact, one could say some good, he had found his prince. Although he hadn't been looking for him, he still felt more content now that he had his brothers back. Even though he would never tell them that.

This, on the other hand, did not make him content, it made him...agitated. This girl, truly a girl in every sense of the word, had to be insane. She was talking to her cat as though it would talk back.

"See, Artemis, I told you that it originated here."

The cat just gave her look that seemed to say, "Yeah, everyone can be right once in a while."

Keenan shook his head and was about to start running again, when the girl seemed to notice him. She gave him a big smile as if it made her day to meet him, and she skipped up to him.

"Hi there. I'm new here, can you possibly tell me where to find the Crown Arcade?"

He was distracted for a moment by the giant red bow on her head that he had to stop and replay what she had said, it didn't help that she talked quite quickly.

"No."

"British, huh? I was just there for a couple months, my parents sent me to live with my aunt for a while, they said that it would be good for me to see the world while I am young. London is so different from here, don't you think?" And she was off, Keenan just stared at her trying to figure out how she could guess he was British by just one word. As she talked, he realized there was an inconsistency in what she said, and his police training kicked in again, and he had to find out why there was an inconsistency. He doubted that she was lying. He waited patiently for her to stop her babble, but she just kept going.

"And then it just seemed like I missed home more and more. Not my parents of course, but jeez, London is so much dirtier than Tokyo. The smog and all those cars, as much as I love the quick life, I like breathing clean air. One day I will have both, I'm going to be a superstar and take my private jet to where ever my fancy takes me. One day I will be in Paris the next in Berlin or New York."

Keenan would have given the white cat that was twined around the girl's feet a sympathetic look, but he was too busy gazing at the girl, wondering how it was possible for one girl to talk so much or even have so much to say. Then there was silence, and Keenan realized that she had asked him a question. Thinking back he realized she asked why he was in Japan.

"I'm on a program to exchange tactics with your troops."

"A military man, huh? I've always loved a man in uniform. Except the ones the Bobbies wear, oh and the ones that the regiments wear, I don't know but those big tall hats they wear never did it for me. Neither do the beefeater uniforms. If I want to see a man in a dress, I'll go to a drag show. I don't really like doctor or firemen or pilot uniforms either. So I guess I don't really like uniforms, but in your case I'd be glad to make an exception."

Was she flirting with him? It was ridiculous, she was probably five years younger than him. Although she was rather pretty. He rather hoped that flirting wasn't her normal way of talking to men.

"If you were just visiting London and this is your home, how are you new here?" Keenan asked, hoping that he didn't sound like he was interrogating her.

"Oh, my family is from Kyoto, and when I went to live with my aunt for a couple months, my parents decided to move to Tokyo."

Her cat mrrphed, and the girl glanced at the animal before giving Keenan a radiant smile, and his heart sped slightly. "Well, I have to go, Captain." and she started to walk away, when she turned and gave him another smile, "My name is Minako, by the way, Aino Minako."

Her hair streamed behind her as she walked away, winking gold in the sunlight. Keenan stared after her, part of him trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. He didn't talk to people he didn't know ever, and this girl seemed utterly unbothered by his cold face and emotionless voice.

He decided it didn't matter because he would never see that Aino Minako again. Just a chance meeting that meant nothing more in the grand scheme of things. But, even as he started jogging again, he had the sneaking suspicion that Miss Minako would not be easily forgotten.

"There is something wrong with that man." Jed said rubbing his eyes. "There is no earthly reason to take jogs every morning at six am."

Jed was a morning person, but that meant like eight and nine in the morning, not this psychotic six in the morning.

Keenan was getting rather proficient at ignoring Jed's comments. A less secure leader might have felt the need to chastise him, but Keenan knew that he was teasing, not really mocking or a sign of dissention.

Nathan and Zane were sitting on the ground, leaning into each other, both of their eyes fluttering open and closed. Mamoru was the only one who seemed unfazed by the early morning. Well, him and Keenan.

"Right. We are going to run a mile this morning. Try to keep up."

Keenan and Mamoru took off without waiting for Nathan and Zane to get up. The three chased after them. Zane was by far the fastest and quickly caught up with their leaders and had to slow down so as to not by pass them. Nathan, who was rather sedentary when it came down to it, was slow. He relied more on strength and a little cunning to get him through his fights rather than quickness. That's not to say that he was unusually slow, in fact, in an ordinary track meet he would probably come in third. Jed had a tendency to speed up and slow down, preferring short sprints to long marathons.

They had just looped around the park when Mamoru shuddered to a stop. Jogging back, Keenan gave his prince a once over. He did not look good, he was shuddering and sweating. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he asked, "Mamoru, what is it?"

"I'm getting a headache again. Please go on without me."

Keenan frowned, those did not look like the symptoms of a headache. It looked more like the flu than anything. But, the scowl on Mamoru's face said that he would not appreciate being babied. Nodding slightly, he turned to the other three and gestured forward. "What are you waiting for? Get going."

They took off and left Mamoru to slouch his way to a park bench, where he clasped his head. He did not see the frown that Jed gave him as they ran away. Jed didn't like this, Endymion had always been healthy. Always. Yet, in this life, he was suffering not only from blackouts, but mysterious illnesses. While it could be that his body was physically different from the one in the past, Jed was loathe to believe it. If that were true, they should not look so exactly like their Silver Millennium counterparts. If Jed did not have memories from his childhood in this life, he might have said that he was transported forward through time, and had never been reincarnated at all. Even their physical capabilities seemed untouched, although, it probably wouldn't stay that way if they didn't do these exercises. Besides, he knew that there would be definite deficiencies in their combat skills, as compared to the past. And their magics were a joke when compared to their past capabilities.

So what was wrong with Mamoru?

* * *

Wow, Jed's quite domestic, getting the mail when he has just moved in earlier that afternoon. Maybe he's just nosey. He surprised me by saying 'mate', and having a reason for it. I really wanted to make him draw a moustache on Mamoru when he had him pinned, but Jed was adamant that that was just stupid.

Zane seems to be becoming one of those geniuses who are idiots in everyday life.

I wasn't expecting the senshi to make an appearance so early, but Ami just kind of snuck in, and Mina was supposed to meet Jed first. Yes, it is important that Usagi never noticed Jed or that Jed doesn't meet anyone other than Mina or Makoto, otherwise the senshi would start to freak out, and I am reserving that for later.


	3. You Have Your Secrets,But Honey, So Do I

Yay, the third chapter. This one might not be as polished as the others because I ran out of prewritten stuff two thirds of the way through the last. This means that updates might take a little longer, but I will continue to try to get one up a day.

On another note, this one really begins to depart from cannon. I know that TK did not get the first jewel, but I was bored with the mystery of Mamoru's headaches; I read somewhere that it was the crystal that made him able to remember his time as tuxedo kamen, I don't know how accurate this is, but I think that it works well into the story. There are other inconsistencies with cannon, but this is an alternate universe so I get to do that.

Thank you to my reviewers, I really appreciate your feedback.

* * *

Jed was sitting on the couch when Mamoru stumbled through the door. He looked as though he had taken a thorough beating. Jed jumped up and rushed to his side.

"You look like hell."

Mamoru winced but didn't answer. Perhaps he hoped that Jed would drop it, but, if he did, he really did not know Jed. "What happened to you?"

Glaring alternately between the floor and his nosey roommate, he muttered, "I don't really know."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said I don't know, okay?" Mamoru shouted.

Frowning at Mamoru, Jed lead him to the couch. "I don't suppose you remember how to heal yourself?"

The pain was making Mamoru irritable, "If I knew that, do you think I would have walked home in this condition?"

"Right. Do you have a first aid kit?"

"In the bathroom."

Jed glared at himself in the mirror while he gathered the kit. Some guard he was turning out to be. Mamoru had been beaten while he was in a weakened state, they should have stayed with him. Jed didn't mind when beating were deserved, but Mamoru had been distracted by an illness, how could he have possibly gotten somebody to that level of anger?

Returning to the living room, Jed efficiently cleaned and wrapped Mamoru's cuts, which were surprisingly few. Studying the bruises on him, Jed remarked, "I take it you still heal quite fast."

Mamoru sighed, "How do you know that?"

"These bruises, they look weeks old, rather than a couple hours, and since you were not bruised when we left you, I assumed that these were what you got from your fight. So, who were you fighting?"

Mamoru just turned away.

"Come on, you can tell me. Although if it is underground fighting rings, I am afraid as your guard, I'll have to forbid that."

Scowling, Mamoru didn't answer.

Jed sighed theatrically, "Alright. But when you are ready to talk, I should be interested to know why when we left you, you were sick and when I saw you next you were beaten. It hasn't even been that long, maybe an hour."

Mamoru watched Jed stalk back to the bedroom and slam the door. He wasn't worried about Jed holding a grudge, the man had seemed more irritated at himself than anything. But, this whole altercation reinforced how little privacy he was going to have. He had been getting these scrapes for months, and because he lived alone had been able to hide them. Now, everything he did was at risk of being found out by Jed. And he really did not want to admit to black outs, and injuries he did not remember getting. He wanted to know what was going on. Maybe he could have Jed follow him, when he got a headache? No, that would mean having to tell Jed that he was concerned and in some sort of trouble. And ever since he was a boy, Mamoru had taken care of himself.

"That bitch. Did you see the right hook she gave Takumi? Nearly knocked him out."

"I don't care about her punches. It f-ing hurt when she threw me into the wall."

Nathan laughed internally at the two boys groaning on the sidewalk. He had come across them and another guy who was knocked out on his way home from the jog. They had probably deserved what they had gotten, their clothes attested that they thought of themselves as bad ass. He thought that it was an even better comeuppance that they appeared to have been beaten up by a girl. That had to be a blow to the ego.

"God, if anybody finds out about this, we're doomed. Especially if they find out she was carrying baking supplies. If she was a yank, our cred might survive. But not this." The one who had admired the girl's punches groaned.

Nathan couldn't help but say, "I won't tell anyone."

The two boys snapped to attention. "Shit somebody saw. Lord kill me now."

Nathan gave them a Jed worthy smirk before sauntering away. That a girl could do that, it intrigued him. He had forgotten that girls of this era were less docile than those in the Silver Millennium, only the Sailor Senshi had any spark back then. Women here were definitely more interesting.

Whistling to himself, he didn't notice a man across the street who looked as though he could pass for his double. He didn't notice the furtive look that the man gave the people on the sidewalk before stepping into a building. Nor did he notice when five minutes later, screams began.

The phone rang, and Zane cursed. They had interrupted him in the middle of a test run of a new game. It had made him lose. He hated that, therefore he answered the phone a little more grumpily than his wont.

"Moshi moshi."

"Zane, its me, Jed."

"Jed?"

"You know, Jadeite. One of the four great generals."

"I know who you are." Zane groused, "I was just surprised that you were calling me so soon."

"I wouldn't, but something's up with Mamoru."

Zane perked his ears, "What is it?"

"You remember how when we left him in the park, he was ill?"

"Yes?"

"When he got home a few minutes ago, he wasn't ill but was beaten. And I have reason to think that he has been getting blackouts."

Zane frowned, "I can't think of anything off the top of my head. The number one cause for blackouts is alcoholism or heart failures."

"No, I don't think that's it, he hasn't come home smelling like a liquor store, and I think we'd notice by now if he had heart failure."

Chuckling, Zane agreed, "I'll go to the library after I finish here to see what I can find on the subject."

"Make sure you keep in mind that he is doing stuff during the time that he blacks out, he is not just fainting."

"Will do."

Hanging up the phone, Zane was determined to make this a quick run through, so that he could okay the game for mass production. Besides, if he left now, he wouldn't be able to get his mind off of it, and he knew for a fact that that didn't help him when he was trying to do research.

The gym was even bigger than what Jed had imagined, and he couldn't help but wonder how Keenan had been able to afford this. It was the whole enchilada: a track, exercise machines, weights, the actual gym area, an outside field, and did he forget to mention the pool. Perhaps, Jed thought, noting the hours sign on the door, he got a loan on it and is paying it back through its own income. It would still be a down payment that Jed was slightly nauseated at thinking about. His parents were rich, yes, but they prescribed to Rockefellers thinking and Jed had never had an allowance or gotten too much special treatment. If he wanted his parents to buy something extra, he had to earn it through work, house work or otherwise. He bought his first and only car, himself. His birthdays and Christmas' weren't anything special. He went to a good school, his parents had a big house, and they went on phenomenal vacations, but that was the extent of his 'spoiling'. Everything else, he had to work for, just like his parents and their parents before them.

While Jed, Nathan, Zane, and Mamoru were busy gawking at the gym, Keenan walked into the office and grabbed the sword that hung over his desk, and a rather large box that nobody ever noticed. When he got back into the main part of the gym where the men were standing with dazed expressions, Keenan felt the corner of his mouth curl slightly.

Jed was the first to snap out of the luxury induced coma, and shouted, "You actually own a freaking broad sword!"

The room echoed his room for a long a moment, and after it silenced, the others just stared at him. For a change, Jed felt sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck, carefully avoiding meeting anybody's eyes.

After a moment, Keenan cleared his throat, "I bought this a while back, and when I did, I...uh, impulsively, " he nearly muttered the word, "bought these." He kicked open the box he had carried, and in it there laid three swords and two really long daggers.

Zane swooped in and picked out the daggers, "These are just like mine! Or what mine used to be." He felt the edges and then tossed them into the air, failing at catching either. "That's a lot harder than it used to be." he shrugged, "I guess I'll have to work on it."

Keenan closed his eyes, "That is the least of the skills you should work on with those."

Jed looked over the three swords, before deciding on one that was thinner than the average sword, but not as thin as foils. He swished it around before lifting it into the air and saying, "Zorro ain't got nothing one me."

"Sorry Jed, but there is no competition between you and Zorro, and I mean that in his favor." Nathan called before grabbing a sword that was slightly shorter than Keenan's, actually, if it weren't for the pointed tip, it would look exactly like a machete.

Mamoru just stared at the last sword as though he didn't know what to do with it. His life was so strange. If you had told him last year that he would become friends with four guys who claimed to be reincarnated and they would give him sword lessons, he would have discreetly given you the card of a mental hospital.

The last sword very nearly twinned Keenan's, the handle was a little fancier, but otherwise he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Keenan hefted his sword and commanded, "Line up and get into a fighting stance with your blades."

Mamoru quickly grabbed the sword and stood next to the other three. Keenan walked down the line correcting their stances.

"No, Nathan, put a little more bend in your knees, if you lock your legs like that you are liable to faint and if you don't your movements will be stilted. Bent knees give both support and preparation for movement."

"Zane, keep your blades in the air, an enemy is not going to wait for you to lift them."

"Jed, you are not playing baseball, get that sword off your shoulder."

When he got to Mamoru, he gave Mamoru a small smile, "Very good, your majesty."

Mamoru frowned, both at the title and the fact that the sword did not feel as foreign to his hand as he thought it should. In fact, part of him took mental notes on the quality and how the blade's weight was a little uneven and he would have to mind the disparity when swinging it. A small part of him was even annoyed at both how heavy and how light it was. It was as though he was used to swinging both a heavier sword and a lighter stick, and this sword just didn't cut it in comparison.

Keenan led them through a series of patterns that progressively got harder. Finally he raised his hand for them to stop. "I am glad to see we are not as bad as we might be, but there is a definite need for work. Today was unusual because I wanted to see just how bad the damage of a millennia or two truly is. Weight training will be on Mondays and Wednesdays, endurance on Tuesdays, Sundays and Thursdays will be stretching and flexibility. Fridays will be weaponry, generally swords, but occasionally bows. You will get Saturday evenings off. You will be there unless you are dieing. Is this understood?"

Nathan, Zane, and Jed saluted him and said, "Yes, sir." while Mamoru merely nodded his agreement. Keenan nodded to them and carried the now empty box back into his office. Their weapons were their responsibility now.

Keenan was downtown Juuban when it happened. A monster appeared out of no where and soon the streets were in a panic, half the people collapsing from energy loss. It was pandemonium, Keenan crouched in a nearby doorway, trying to decide what to do. The monster was huge and machine like and strangely feminine. He didn't have his sword or his magic, but he was supposed to protect the people of earth, wasn't he? That had been his job in both lives, was he to forsake it now? But a good soldier needed to know when going out to fight was a viable option. A good soldier knew that when a job seemed as though it were suicide, sometimes it was best to stay back and gather information, waiting for back up. So, why was he in a torment about not being able to do anything? But, what could he do? He didn't have a weapon and there were no convenient lead pipes lying around.

While he had been scrutinizing his small area for weapons, he missed the flashes of blue, red, and green. So he was almost startled when he heard a feminine voice shout, "Nega-scum! You are ruining a peaceful Sunday morning and lovely shopping time. I, pretty guardian Sailor Moon cannot forgive you, and in the name of the moon, I will punish you."

He looked up in time to see the girl in red, white, and blue take a pose. He could tell that she didn't notice that the monster had already launched an attack her way, and he was about to shout a warning when a dark figure swept her out of the way, and onto a light post. Wondering vaguely how they were able to balance on it, he studied the new figure. Nathan had said nothing about a man helping the Sailor Senshi, and this was most obviously a man. In a tuxedo none the less. This was troubling. It meant that there was much more going on than a simple reincarnation, he had been okay when the Sailor Senshi had appeared in this time. That was almost to be expected, even if their home planets had been destroyed. He could easily accept their presence, but now that there was an extra one and a man, Keenan was starting to get worried. Why would the Sailor Senshi need help, they never had before. And what was a Nega-scum, obviously the monster, but why had she called it that? And most importantly why were there monsters on Earth in the first place? He didn't like it, he didn't like it at all.

"Supreme Thunder!" the one in green shouted, Keenan's dusty memory of the old lore informed him that this was probably Sailor Jupiter. Her attack zoomed at the monster and ran along its metallic parts, freezing it for a moment.

"Hit it again Jupiter." the girl in blue called, Sailor Mercury, was it? "Your powers will work best as its body conducts electricity."

The last girl in red was busy shouting at somebody that Keenan couldn't quite see, but who ever it was, they were doing a thorough job of ticking the Senshi from Mars off. He winced when she shouted, "Fire Soul" and pointed her fingers like a gun, for out of her fingers a line of fire shot toward whoever she had been yelling at. Yes, that was definitely the Senshi from Mars.

Jupiter was hitting the monster over and over again with her lightening, laughing each time it froze the monster. Mercury shook her head at this display, while Mars was busy cursing the air blue, evidently, the person or thing that she had a disagreement with had escaped unscathed. Moon and the man in the mask were now standing next to the light post, murmuring to each other. Finally, Mars got fed up with Jupiter toying with the monster and yelled, "Anytime now would be great, Moony."

Sailor Moon seemed to jump and from where he was, Keenan could see the embarrassment in her stance. She pulled off her crown and shouted, "Moon Tiara Action."

While everybody was distracted by the monster turning to dust, the man in the mask melted into the darkness.

"Nathan, why did you neglect to mention a man in a tuxedo helping the Senshi when you gave your report?" A dangerously soft voice enquired.

Nathan grimaced, when Kunzite or Keenan got that tone, it meant that he was not happy. And when Kunzite was not happy, nobody was happy. Worse, this time the tone was most definitely directed at him. He looked up at his leader very slowly, hoping that maybe in the time it took him to look Keenan in the face, Keenan will have calmed down. No such luck. He cleared his throat, "A man in a tuxedo? Did he happen to go by Tuxedo Kamen?"

Keenan gritted his teeth, "I didn't catch a name. I don't think he ever said. But the point remains, why didn't you mention him. It was relevant to the discussion."

Nathan shifted uncomfortably, "Well, the thing is, I thought he was a myth. The newspapers have no pictures of him, and although witnesses claim that there was a man helping the Sailor Senshi, I thought that it wasn't true. Why would the Sailor Senshi need help? I was sure that they existed from their photos, albeit blurry, at least there was proof of their existence."

"Why didn't you consult the stars on this Tuxedo Kamen?"

Nathan frowned, "Like with Sailor Moon, they were rather unforthcoming. As though it was too important for them to reveal anything about those two. In Tuxedo Kamen's case, I assumed it was because he was pure fiction. Are you saying he is real?"

"Of course that's what I am saying. I saw him help the Senshi fight a monster."

"Oh. You saw a fight?" at Keenan's slight incline of his head, Nathan asked excitedly, "Were they as good as legend held them to be?"

"Not really."

Nathan's frown deepened. True his connection with the stars had grown stronger since Mamoru had woken Nephrite, but it was still not as good as it could be. But since he saw actual images rather than blurs, Nathan found that he couldn't complain. Instead he hoped that Endymion would hurry and wake up so that he could get his full powers. It irked him that the lack of powers did not seem to bother the others so much. Still, he had always been a bit more dependent, for lack of a better word, on his powers. Not that they were necessary for him to fight. But he tended to fret when he couldn't talk to the stars. Jadeite had always called them his imaginary friends, and sometimes would accuse him of liking the stars' company better than his brothers-in-arms'. They both had known that wasn't true, while the other generals were his friends and what made a place feel like home, the stars were what relaxed him. He had never been a person who liked being surrounded by people, he would much rather be alone. But, talking the stars always gave him a recharge on the energy lost to being social.

It was both disheartening and a relief to find that the Senshi also were having trouble connecting into their full power. He, unlike Jed and probably Keenan, fully believed that the Senshi of this era were the reincarnated princesses of the past. He had a sneaking suspicion that the past itself was being recreated to a degree. Why and how it was, he didn't have a clue, but he was almost certain that that was the purpose of reincarnating both the generals and the Senshi. Besides, if Mamoru's dreams were any indication, their prince was not the only high royalty to be reincarnated. Why else would a princess ask the prince of the earth for help? And if he didn't miss his mark, he suspected that the princess was in fact the Lunarian princess, and since the Sailor Senshi were not with her, she was missing in action as well. Frustratingly, the stars were again close mouthed on this subject.

This probably meant that part of the Senshi's mission was to find their princess. Well, that was fine and dandy, but were the Shitennou just supposed to sit here and twiddle their thumbs? They had already found their prince, albeit on accident, so what was their goal now? Keenan had already said that they weren't to fight the monsters. Even though he could see the wisdom in that decision, it still irritated him. He had never been one to like surprise. Why would he? The stars had always given him a foreshadowing, so this uselessness and an unknown future grated his nerves.

"Nathan. NAAATHAAAN." Jed called into his ear, and he started. "Hey, buddy, those must have been some thoughts, I have been trying to reach you for the past five minutes."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothings the matter, I just wanted to bring you back to where you are physically. Probably just to annoy you, but I myself am not sure." He gave Nathan a winning grin.

"When did you get here?" Nathan asked, realizing that Jed had not been there when Keenan had been berating him.

"I finally got around to charging my phone, and lo and behold, there was a message there saying that there was yet another meeting."

"Yeah." Zane said using Jed's shoulders to push himself taller, "It turns out that the reason I can never get ahold of Jed is because the dolt forgets to charge his phone most of the time. He even told me that if it wasn't that he forgot to charge it, it would be that he forgot to add more minutes."

"I am so sure that I am the only one that this happens to." Jed rolled his eyes.

Both Keenan and Nathan shook their heads to indicate that no, no such thing would ever happen on their watch, but Zane got a slightly subdued look on his face. "You see," Jed said, noticing the look on Zane's face.

"So, now that I am here, why am I here?" Jed asked Keenan.

"It seems that Nathan was not as thorough in he research as we might have hoped, we now have a third new player. A man called Tuxedo Mask who helps the Senshi."

Jed whistled lowly, "We really are missing a lot of pieces."

"I don't know how important this is, but according to the rumors, Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon showed up around the same time, while the others were brought in later." Nathan said, subconsciously hoping to redeem himself.

"Huh. They were the first fighters?" Zane asked, and at Nathan's nod, he mused, "That makes it almost seem like they gathered everyone. But why would they have the power to do that? Are they an entity together or is it just coincidence? And, did their appearance spark the monsters or did the monsters spark their appearance?"

"I'd wager it is more likely that the monsters sparked their appearance, just because they seem to be cleaning up the monsters, and therefore are a reaction to them." Jed voted.

Keenan frowned, there were too many questions involving this whole thing, and if there was one thing he didn't like it was unanswered questions. His life had been so much simpler before this weekend. 'But better?' a small part of him asked, 'Do you really regret meeting these men?' No, he acknowledged to himself, just because he didn't trust people that didn't mean that he liked being alone. Sometimes he had wished he could get rid of the shields that didn't let people in, but that would mean changing how he is, and he actually liked himself. So it was a blessing to have these men who knew him and accepted him for who he was. Seeing the man behind the mask, as it were. Keenan grimaced slightly at the cliché, but it was kind of true.

"I think we should try and witness more of these battles," Zane volunteered, "The more information we have, the better."

A week later:

Tuxedo Kamen waited in the shadows of a building for his cue to help the senshi. The night was dark, and the moon was swollen in the sky, part of him wondered how it could be so dark with such a large moon, but that really wasn't important right now. The blood that the monster spilled stained the ground black. The Senshi were bouncing around it, trying to find an opening. He had heard Mercury mention that this one was a human. He shuddered at the thought. Monsters should be monsters and humans human, a mixture of the two was disturbing.

Especially since this monster was more disturbing than most they had ever come up against. Maybe it was the way the light fell on it, but instead of being slightly humorous, it was grotesque. It's painted face clown-like, but like a clown from a coulrophobic's worst nightmare. The death's head grin had dark stains on its teeth, and the bald head was painted white. It's red body suit and armor made it look like a video game boss. And worst of all, the damn thing had telekinesis.

More often than not, he found his eyes on Sailor Moon, the girl captivated him, and he knew that part of him would forsake all else if only she was safe. The girl jumped out of reach of the monster and he smiled to himself, she had come a long way from the first time they had met. She was a continual surprise to him, from that very first moment when she taught him that sometimes crying did help. At least if you had supernatural amplifiers that caused the earth to shake from your tears.

But, for a girl so determined to fight, she had the strangest compassion, there had been seven fights this week, all against that new guy, Nephrite, and yet when it seemed that he had found love, and sacrificed his life for that girl, Naru, he could see the tears glittering in her eyes. As though she regretted that Nephrite had to die, as though she could forgive everything because he loved.

Turning his head, he saw that Zoicite was sneaking up behind the Sailor Moon, and he cursed. While he hadn't liked either Nephrite or Jadeite, at least they had had some semblance of honor. With Zoicite, it was the ends justify the means, and he would do anything to get his way, whether he had to buy, sell, or steal. The man had stabbed his own comrade in the back, just so he could get the mission and presumably be honored by whoever their boss was. Springing forward, he pulled out his cane. Surprisingly, over the past week, his skill with it had become more honed, as though whoever his alter ego was, he was practicing. This time, he and Zoicite were more evenly matched. At least, they would have been if Zoicite had not kept using magic.

He dodged all of Zoicite's missiles with ease and he gave a good thrust for every parry. They might have dueled like that all night for all Tuxedo Kamen could tell, except he tripped over the back of the monster. Zoicite screeched in triumph, as though the opening were his own doing and leapt forward to stab him with a knife. Tuxedo Kamen rolled out of the way, the knife landing right where his head was a moment before. It looked as though Zoicite was about to try again when his head snapped to look at the Sailor Scouts as he heard Sailor Moon shout, "Moon Healing Escalation!" And the monster that Tuxedo Kamen had tripped over just seconds before melted to reveal a heavy set boy in glasses. A stone lay next to his feet, and Tuxedo Kamen lunged for it, his hand grabbing it just before Zoicite's could get there. He felt Zoicite's nails scrape down the back of his glove. For once he was thankful for this over-dressed uniform, he wouldn't be surprised if Zoicite put some sort of poison under his nails for just this situation.

A fire came streaming towards Zoicite who cursed and disappeared in a flash of flowers. Tuxedo Kamen could feel the flames just a few centimeters above him, and felt grateful that Mars had aimed well. Which, though he would never ever tell her to her face, it seemed as if she had trouble aiming. In fact, it seemed as though she thought that anything within the area of the monster was fair game. Precision did not go hand in hand with a passionate spirit.

Getting up, he began to walk away, but he heard footsteps running behind him, and turned just in time to catch Sailor Moon who had tripped over the collapsed boy. He kept his face blank as he slowly helped her up, even though where ever she touched him, his nerves were singing. Actually, the air was full of music, and he belatedly realized that it was not coming from his own senses. He looked down, and on the ground in between them was a locket. It was the one he had dropped at a previous fight. The one that he had searched frantically for, before the dizziness returned and he assumed that he returned to his alter ego. Their hands touched as they both reached for it, and Sailor Moon pulled hers back slightly, blushing. His hand hovered over it as he looked her in the eye and she murmured, "That's yours isn't it? I found it in the park."

"I got it from the princess a long time ago." he said, his mouth moving without his permission.

"The princess? Do you know who she is? We are trying so very hard to find her."

"It's your mission to find her?" at her nod, he smiled softly to himself, "Then you should keep it."

Her eyes widened and he saw her swallow, "Tuxedo Kamen-sama, since you have already given me this, I wonder could you give me something else?"

His eyes closed, he would give her anything, if he had a choice, but he had a feeling that he knew what she was going to ask for. The one thing he could not give. He mentally prepared himself for her disappointment.

"Could you give me that stone that you took? Please?"

There was something vaguely familiar about the way she said please, but he shook it away, and hardened his resolve. "No. I am sorry but I am keeping this. In this case we are rivals and if you gain any of the rainbow stones, I won't hesitate taking them if I have a chance."

So saying, he straightened his spine and bounded out of her sight, not even having looked at her. The small gasp that she had let out when he said they were rivals was enough to make him feel regret, he did not know what he would do if he had seen the disappointment in her face. He leaned against a tree as he listened to Sailor Moon join her Senshi, as their cheerful voices faded, he wondered why he was always him against the world. He had felt a kinship with Moon when she first started, they had both been dragged into something that they did not want, but now she had friends to fight with her and he was still just him.

Shaking off the depressing thoughts, Tuxedo Kamen tossed the red crystal up into the air and caught it, before putting it into his pocket and letting the dizziness that signified his detransformation take over him.

Chiba Mamoru opened his eyes. He was back in the park. This time though, he had no surprise at his location. He pulled a red rock from his pocket at held it in front of his eyes. Twisting it this way and that to watch it glint, it was mesmerizing. What was so special about this gem that it could unlock the mystery behind his blackouts and illness? He knew it was a piece of the Ginzuishou, but why did it make him remember, or at least realize that he was Tuxedo Kamen.

He still didn't have his memories from those times before, but he presumed that each time was spent fighting. Which also explained the mysterious injuries. He smirked, well, they weren't so mysterious anymore. Although he didn't remember fighting, he got small snippets of what had happened, sparring at the airport with Jadeite, watching Nephrite die, seeing Sailor Moon for the first time. But the rest was a blur.

Speaking of Jadeite and Nephrite, what the hell? He had seen both Jed and Nathan in the interim of Nephrite's death and now. And as far as he knew, Jadeite was long gone, but these two claimed to be Jadeite and Nephrite from a past life. Then there was Zoicite, other than appearance, he was really nothing like Zane, and yet they could be easily mistaken for each other. The only one of his supposed guards that he had not yet seen was Kunzite, but he held no hope that this would always be the case. It looked like it was time to have a nice long chat with the Shitennou.

Zane looked up at the sound of Keenan's door slamming open. He had been spending more and more time at the older man's apartment, he liked the serenity of it, even if it was just a tad icy. But then he had always like icy things, from snow to ice cream. But the man who stormed through the door was not icy, not one bit. In fact, Zane would go so far as to say that he was positively steaming.

That was not the most surprising thing, though. The man who had waltzed so violently in was someone that Zane only knew by hearsay. The tuxedo and white mask gave it away. So the question remained, what was Tuxedo Mask doing here?

"Er...Tuxedo Kamen-san, I think you have the wrong apartment."

"No, I don't think so, Zoicite."

Zane's eyes bugged from his head and he stood there his mouth open as though he were a fish. How could Tuxedo Kamen possibly know his past life's name? It was unfathomable.

Tuxedo Kamen swept past him and into the living room where Jed, Nathan, and Keenan were sitting on the couches, wrapping up their Shitennou meeting. When he got in there, Jed sprang to his feet, Nathan fell out of his chair, and Keenan just became very, very still.

"Nephrite, Jadeite, I would say it is a pleasure to see you again, except its really not. Your supposed to be dead. In fact, I know for sure that you are dead Nephrite."

Nathan stared at the masked man in askance, "I beg your pardon, I most certainly am not dead."

Jed dealt with his surprise in the best way he knew, "Tuxedo Kamen, natty outfit, truly. May I say that the top hat just adds something so very...nineteenth century?"

Tuxedo Kamen didn't remove his drilling gaze from Nathan's eyes. "Who is your leader, Nephrite?"

"Keenan, of course. Only after Prince Endymion."

Pinning his gaze on Keenan, the two men got into a silent staring contest, each trying to dominate the others gaze. Neither one, and in the end Tuxedo Kamen broke the silence, "What do you want with all that energy, Keenan or can I presume that you are Kunzite?"

Keenan didn't respond, but the gasps around him were enough to convey the room's general question. Zane voiced it anyway, he was never one to shy away from asking questions, "What energy?"

Tuxedo Kamen sighed and seemed to shrink from the imposing man he was a few minutes before. He turned back to Nathan, "Tell me Nephrite, have your powers felt stronger since yesterday?"

Nathan thought for a moment, "Yeah, now that you mention it, they do. Actually, I feel as though they are at full capacity now. Hang on, let me check."

Nathan's face grew relaxed and he stood his arms casually at his sides. The air in the room seemed to deepen as he gathered energy into himself. A slight wind blew threw his hair, even though everybody else's was still. Then, when the building up pressure seemed like it was about to explode out, it was slowly released, starting from his bare feet. Bare feet that were now encased in leather boots, and tucked in these boots was a dark blue uniform, so dark that it was almost black. The buttons were a dull silver and at his side, a sword very much like the one he had been practicing with was strapped to his left hip.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his clothes, he smiled slightly before his gaze trained on Tuxedo Kamen, "How did you know that my powers would be back in full?"

"I didn't, it was merely a suspicion."

Zane bounced in his seat, "Does this mean that Prince Endymion has woken up?" Before anybody could answer, he attempted to do his own transformation, but nothing happened. With a disappointed look, he sat back on the couch.

"Why is Nathan the only one who got his power back?" Jed asked not caring that there was a bit of a whine in his voice.

"I told you, it was merely a suspicion. But now I am curious, are you able to transform Jadeite?"

Jed shook his head, "No way. I don't even have to try, my power is nowhere near what it used to be, and transforming is one of the highest abilities."

Tuxedo Kamen nodded, "I wondered. I guess that means that he isn't dead."

"Who isn't dead?" Keenan asked accusingly.

Tuxedo Kamen's gaze sharpened before his lips curved into an uncharacteristic smirk, "Why General Jadeite of the Dark Kingdom, of course."

"What?" Jed asked, too surprised to even change his tone of voice, "Look mate, I don't know how you know that I was Jadeite in a past life, but as Nathan most eloquently put, I most certainly am not dead."

The smirk on Tuxedo Kamen's face widened as he said, "Actually, Jed, you are both right. Neither of you are dead, and nor, apparently is General Jadeite. But, I know that General Nephrite is dead. And your counterpart," he added glancing at Zane, "is busy wreaking havoc at this very moment."

The four Shitennou sat with varying degrees of confusion on their face, before Jed ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Alright, mate. I think you are going to have to take this from the top for us. To put it bluntly, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Certainly, but first, it is rather uncomfortable to stay in this getup." Tuxedo Kamen pulled a perfect red rose out of an inner pocket that, by all rights, should have squished it. Running his fingers over the bud, the transformation leaked way from him, and after a moment, Mamoru stood there, the tips of his fingers grasping the stem of the rose. He opened his fingers and the rose disappeared.

They all stared and then Jed voiced the thought that they all had, "What the bloody hell is going on?

* * *

Heh, the next chapter will explain all...not really, but I imagine there will be a bit more interaction with the senshi, but it is somewhat of a mystery to me as well. I just have a general outline of what I want to happen, but things just pop in and I go with the flow.


	4. Fancy Meeting You Here

Sorry about the delay. I should have known better than to say definitively what I was going to try and do, because of course the next two days would be so busy that I could not possibly accomplish it. I hope this is worth the wait. It's a full four pages longer than previous chapters.

* * *

Mamoru chuckled slightly before sliding into his customary chair. He leaned back, looking much more at ease than the Shitennou were used to seeing him.

"It's really quite simple. You are all aware of the monster attacks that have been going on, I'm sure. But, what you and most people don't know is that the monsters don't just appear. They are planted to gather human energy for the Dark Kingdom in the Negaverse. I don't know why. Anyway, one evening, I got a massive headache and passed out. I assumed I was just overworked and didn't think anything of it. It turns out that that was the first time I became Tuxedo Kamen. Sadly for my peace of mind, for the past three months, the black outs just started happening more frequently. I now know that I was just aiding the Sailor Senshi, but at the time I was really concerned. As I said, we were fighting the Negaverse who happened to have a nasty piece of work general called Jadeite. You remember that radio host who read love letters on the air in exchange for pendants? That was him. Then, two weeks ago, he started to get desperate and lured the Senshi and I to an airfield, where he proceeded to try and squish the senshi with planes and fought with me. Nearly drowning me, might I add. After that, he disappeared and General Nephrite appeared. I don't know what happened to Jadeite, but for reasons I will explain later, I don't think that he's dead. Anyway, unlike Jadeite whose plots tended to be extravagant and take time to set up, Nephrite seemed to prefer simpler schemes. Which is why I blacked out on average twice a day last week, because he went faster from plan to plan. He was killed this Friday."

Jed snickered, pointing at Nathan, "My evil twin lasted two and a half months, and yours didn't last a week. That's really sad, mate."

Mamoru's smirk widened, "Or it could be that your evil twin didn't have one of his own supposed allies gunning against him. Besides, at least Nephrite showed some capacity for good. Did I mention he died saving a girl?"

Zane looked up, confused, "Why would the Senshi want to harm a girl?"

"They didn't. Zoicite did and he made sure to stab Nephrite in the back when he had a chance to. Nephrite became dust and a light green light that quickly disappeared."

Zane's mouth formed a small O, and Mamoru continued, "I think that somehow the Beryl that the generals kept mentioning managed to gain your powers and gave it bodies that she could send to do her biding. And when Nephrite died, it returned to its rightful owner. So, if Jadeite had died, Jed would be at full power right now, but as he attested earlier, he's not. That must mean that wherever Jadeite is, he is alive. It's funny though, how much you and they look alike. I think that it was just who ever made the bodies had a cruel sense of humor to make them look just like you. At any rate, as for Zoicite, he is still out there, plotting. He's very...mercenary, and does anything to accomplish his goals." Mamoru glanced at Keenan who had been watching him sharply throughout his explanation, "And Kunzite, well, he has yet to appear."

Mamoru leaned his head back, and waited for the men to come to terms with what he had claimed was going on. Turn about was fair play, and honestly, his wild story had way more proof than theirs had.

"You know Mamoru, you kind of lack tact." Jed muttered as though he was one to talk. His gaze was not on Mamoru, but instead on Zane who looked somewhat depressed, "Don't worry about it , Zane, we all know that you yourself would never do that. You are not that underhanded, mate, hate to break it to you. I bet you were one of those guys in grade school who apologized before they hit out."

At Zane's small smile, Jed grinned, "You see."

"Besides," Nathan added, "it's not as though anything of theirs is related to us, other than our magic, of course. So that's akin to blaming yourself when somebody steals your gun and hurts somebody with it. You are not liable, especially since you weren't even aware of this weapon until a few minutes ago."

Zane nodded, relieved. It wasn't as though he was going to take it to heart, but he had been worried that Nathan might, and never trust him. 'That would have made working with him tough, especially when we sparred.'

Keenan cleared his throat, "So, to get our abilities back, our counterparts need to die?"

Mamoru nodded before his gaze sharpened. "You are not to try and kill them. I have a hard enough time with my wimpy abilities. You would not survive with no powers to speak of. You have to remember that not only do they have your powers, they have your physicality and major personality traits. To try would be suicide." He held Keenan's gaze until the older man gave in to the command.

Looking down, Keenan smiled to himself. Endymion had shown himself, if only for a few seconds. He could not mistake that commanding tone or dominant gaze. Keenan had learned long ago that although Endymion generally followed his lead when it came to combat, when Endymion did command something, he knew what he was talking about and truly meant it. Besides, Keenan would never be so reckless.

Keenan was not the only one who had noticed, the other three grinned foolishly. Jed poked Mamoru playfully, "I don't know how you do it, mate. It can't be easy having three distinct facets of you. I have a hard enough time with an extra set of memories."

After a moment, Zane realized something and muttered, "So I guess it wasn't Rohypnol after all..."

Mamoru and Jed shared a look before bursting out laughing.

Shouts filled the park's air, and Jed leaned against the tree to watch with great amusement as Mamoru and the blond girl sparred. While their insults were quite witty, that was not why it was amusing, it was just that they were so obviously clueless. He wondered if the girl noticed that when Mamoru pulled her pigtail, his fingers lingered in her hair for a moment. He wondered if Mamoru himself noticed.

A chuckle interrupted his spectating. He looked around for the person it came from, they had sounded close. Yet, there was nobody nearby.

They giggled again before hinting, "Look up."

He followed the suggestion, and was not wholly surprised to see a girl sitting in the tree branches.

"Young love," she said sighing dreamily, "I think they must have the blue string around their pinkies."

Jed stared. Blue string? What was she talking about? Around their pinkies? Suddenly, comprehension dawned and he chuckled, "Don't you mean the red string?"

The girl shrugged comfortably, "Yours can be red if you want. But I've always thought that red is for hair." She said gesturing to the bow on top of her head that indeed was a bright red. "Blue is such a finger color, don't you think?"

He chuckled again, "Only if you have frostbite."

The girl laughed before climbing out of the tree to sit next to Jed. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the argument before them. As usual, the girl stormed away, and Mamoru stared at her back for a beat or two before recalling himself and turning away.

"Bet you an ice cream cone she looks back." the girl murmured to Jed, he cocked his head and before he could answer, the girl Mamoru fought with had slowed to a stop and hesitatingly looked over her shoulder, a small smile on her face. "Told you so. How about that ice cream?" his companion said, winking at him.

Jed genuinely smiled, finding himself charmed in spite of himself. He stood before swinging an arm down to help the girl up. She gratefully grabbed hold and was gracefully raised to her feet. He offered her the same arm, she took hold of his elbow. "May I have the name of the lovely lady I am escorting?"

She giggled and plucked her skirt out with her free hand, bobbing a quick curtsey. "Kind sir, Lady Minako at your service."

"Well, my Lady Minako, shall we gallivant?"

"Yes, let's."

By the time they reached the ice cream vendor's (which was maybe fifty feet away), they had discussed the weather, Minako's left foot, cats versus dogs, the latest box office hit, what kind of person they were attracted to, Jed's car in America, favorite music, the validity of love potion in the game of making someone fall in love, and promised to get tattoos together, someday. And in that order. Any passerby who might have listened in would be dizzied by the speed of the conversation and the seemingly random segue ways. But, really, they made perfect sense, if you happened to be Jed or Mina.

Standing in line, Minako threw her arms around Jed's shoulder and gave him a big bear hug, before saying, "I am so very glad that you are not my type and I am not yours, because if we were married, we'd go to bed with sore throats every night and that hardly leaves room for anything worth doing in the bedroom."

A lesser man might have been embarrassed, or at least felt uncomfortable at this rather loud declaration. But, that man is not Jed, who gave her a flirty wink before saying, "Don't worry, you are a little too amiable for my bed. Lord, above all else, please give me a girl who is pugnacious."

Minako grinned, she knew what 'amiable' meant thanks to her numerous viewings of Pride and Prejudice (actually Artemis explained it to her). That Mr. Darcy was so dreamy, she had always had a thing for the tall, silent types.

To their delight, they discovered that they shared a love of bubblegum, mint-chocolate, cookie dough triple scoop ice cream. Minako tapped her cone against Jed and said dramatically, "Johnny, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Louie."

"Who's that?"

"Never mind, but I have a feeling that you are right."

A dark haired girl kneeled before a large fire, the flames leaping feet above her head. She was murmuring to herself and the fire sparked at her words. She stared at it watching images that only she could see.

"Something's about to happen. Something good? Bad? Two sides, one face. An important time, a turning point. Predetermined. People dying. A woman crying. Four figures stand alone. Trust. Distrust."

Sighing she waved her hands and the fire shrank down to the size of a normal house fire. The fires had become oddly morbid these past few weeks and she couldn't make sense of the images. It used to be a relatively simple matter to get the answers she wanted, but now something was clogging the works. She put her face in her hands, feeling depressed until she realized that she had so much more important things to be doing than moping in front of the Sacred fire. If it didn't want to be seen by her, she didn't want to be seen by it. Barely resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at it, she stalked from the room.

Two weeks later:

Tuxedo Kamen raced down the sidewalk towards the docks. Even though earlier today he was almost sure he saw Sailor Moon put people in danger so she could stage a rescue, he still had a duty to protect her. There was a thought that was niggling at him, it was on the tip of his tongue, but he had no time, he had to get to her. He had to save her and question her about what had happened today. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding.

Sailor V stood in the shadows, watching the masked man race towards the dock. She smirked seeing his white mask, 'Why is it that the only two of us who wear masks are the ones who keep to the shadows?' she wondered as she waited for him to reach the figure. Scanning her surroundings, Sailor V looked yet again for the other three Senshi. When Sailor Moon was around at least one if not all were not far behind. And yet, supposedly, she was bound and gagged in the open. Where were her friends? This was not right. Sailor V might not be the smartest cupcake, but she knows when she smells a fish, and this is just too ratty.

Suddenly she sees something so seemingly insignificant that her gaze had just swept over it before. There at the entrance of the piers, there is flashing lights. They are flashing at random, almost as though someone is fighting. Without thinking about it, she runs under the cover of the shadows to make sure. When she gets there, she is unsurprised to see that there are four sailor scouts fighting against a man with long silver hair. Actually it looked like they were attempting to fight him, and he was just gathering their attacks into his own arsenal. Not even really trying.

Okay. Pop quiz, there are two fights going on right now. On the one hand there is four young girls against a man, who just seems content to play with them. Pretend to give them a chance when the cards are all in his hand. On the other side, there is one man against an unknown entity. Sailor V bit her lip, chewing it as she tried to think. Then she realized that there was no need to think, her instincts were honed, and right now they were telling her to get to the masked man as quickly as possible.

As invisibly as she had come, she left, running the same direction that she had seen the man take. She could hear it when he grunted in pain. She peered around the next corner, and there he was, slowly turning to look at the man Sailor V recognized as an enemy from earlier battles. The look on Tuxedo Kamen's face, what was visible of it anyway, said that he had been totally taken in and he was going to hold this against himself for a long time to come. Sailor V shook her head, knowing that self-blame was not the thing to have at this moment, especially when she could see the darkening stain on his back. Luckily, the man seemed to have some sense as he managed to get away from the man he had called Zoicite.

Part of her was trying to get her to return to her soldiers, she was their leader, and yet she was leaving them on their own to save this man. But, it was too late now, she made her decision, and the injuries they got from it would be in vain if she gave up now. Tuxedo Kamen seemed to be doing well on his own, until Zoicite pressed him into the floor. That was cheating, she thought fuming. The man was injured and yet the general was acting as though this were a great accomplishment.

By now, she was peering in from a window, so when Tuxedo Kamen's mask came flying off, she couldn't see who was underneath. It wasn't important, but she kind of wondered what a masked man looked like without the mask, plus Zoicite said he was handsome. However, this curiosity was suppressed when she saw her opening. As she raised her hands to send out a crescent beam, she prayed that Tuxedo Kamen was good at taking openings, because she was really sensing danger to the other Senshi, and would not stay after letting it off.

Jed flipped on the news, maybe it would answer where Mamoru was. He had thought that it would be easier now that he knew why Mamoru was getting ill and disappearing, but he was wrong, it was just a whole lot worse. Because instead of worrying that Mamoru was in some sort of danger, he knew. Every instinct in him yelled for him to protect his future king, and yet he had been doubly ordered, first by Mamoru and then by Keenan to not follow Tuxedo Kamen to a fight. They said it would distract Tuxedo Kamen if he had to worry about another innocent, well a not so innocent innocent. They said that if the Sailor Scouts caught sight of him they would fight him instead of the real danger. Most of all they said that if one of the generals saw him they might attempt to claim his body for the Negaverse.

Yes, there were plenty of reasons why it was best to stay home, but on nights like these, he was filled with unease. He didn't know why it was easier to trust that everything would be alright during a daytime fight, but it was. Besides, hadn't Mamoru been gone an extra long time. How long did these fights take, anyway?

As the clock struck eleven, he shifted in his chair. This was taking way too long. He had almost determined to go out and search the streets for his prince (that wasn't technically breaking orders, he wasn't following to the fight, per se...) when the door swung open, and Mamoru stumbled in.

Something kept Jed quiet as he watched Mamoru lean against the closed door, methodically swinging his head back into it. He thought he heard the muttered word "stupid" on multiple swings, but he wasn't positive. After a few moments standing there, Mamoru shuffled into the living room, and Jed squeezed back into his shadowed area, an intense need to not be seen.

Mamoru had just laid his head back when the room filled with light from the tv. Jed shrank even more, but Mamoru hadn't noticed him, he was too busy staring in shock at the screen. Jed turned his head and felt a jolt of surprise run through him when he saw that he was staring at Zane. Except it was not Zane. The uniform was the first hint, but honestly there was something around the eyes and mouth that made this man harsher and decidedly not the younger brother that all the Shitennou had found in Zane. As unnerving as the appearance of an evil Zane was, hearing the apparition speak was ten times worse.

"What a nice room you have." The compliment was mocking and no compliment at all.

"How did you find me?"

"It was easy once we knew who you were." Jed frowned, how had the general found out who Mamoru was? He doubted that Mamoru had let that be known easily, he must have really had a difficult fight. Jed's eyes fastened on the door, there was red on it.

"What do you want?"

Red that hadn't been there before, which meant that Mamoru had been injured. Jed felt his entire body stiffen, as though Mamoru's injury were a personal insult. Which, in a roundabout way, it was. It said that he couldn't protect the one person that he was sworn to.

Jed listened carefully as Zoicite made plans to meet Mamoru the next evening, and when the screen was finally dark and Mamoru's eyes were closed again, he stepped from the shadows saying, "You aren't actually going to go are you?"

Mamoru's eyes jolted open for a second time that evening, his gaze meeting the serious one that Jed had on. How long had he been there? Mamoru internally rolled his eyes, that was a stupid question, it was clear from the look on his face that Jed had heard everything, and most importantly seen the blood. At least Mamoru suspected he had, from the way that Jed's gaze flicked from his eyes to his shoulder.

"Of course I am."

Jed closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why would you possibly want to meet someone like that in what is an almost painfully obvious trap?"

Mamoru waved his words away, "Of course its a trap. Why wouldn't it be a trap? Today was a goddamn trap."

Jed's eyes flashed open, "Yes, today. Let's talk about that, shall we? What exactly happened to you during the fight? How bad is your injury?"

As Mamoru gave a brief summary of the days events, Jed grabbed the first aid kit from the kitchen table, which told more than anything, how much it had been needed in the past week. He studied the meager supplies before determining that they would definitely have to get some more, for now, he would make due with a whole hell of a lot of small bandages, instead of the preferable large one.

"So, why are you going?"

"You are not going to understand."

"Try me." There was a dangerous edge in Jed's tone, and Mamoru found that he couldn't help but oblige.

He sighed, "It's a feeling, alright? I just know that no matter what I will end up there, and I would rather not waste my energy fighting it."

"A feeling." Jed repeated dully, "How much time have you been spending around Nathan lately?"

Mamoru opened his mouth to answer, and Jed waved his hand, "That was rhetorical. But let me see if I have this straight, you are going to risk your life on the strength of a feeling."

Mamoru groaned, this was going to be a long night. "Yes, that sounds about right." Knowing even as he said it, how stupid he sounded.

"I see. That settles it."

Hearing the resigned tone in Jed's voice, Mamoru looked up suspiciously, there was no way that Jed would give up that easily. "Settles what?"

Jed ignored him and instead picked his cell phone off the counter, and mechanically called Nathan, Keenan, and Zane, and told them to get their asses over here, in those exact words.

It had not been twenty minutes before there was banging on the door. After having told Mamoru explicitly what would happen to him if he were to move, Jed went up and opened the door to let in all three missing members.

"Hello gents, Mamoru is about to do something completely stupid, and I need your help to talk him out of it."

Keenan was surprisingly the first to speak, "Mamoru, what is going on?"

Mamoru groaned, "Jed is just being overly worried."

Jed's gaze crackled and at least two of the group gave visible signs of surprise. Jed was angry. Really angry. Slowly, Zane and Nathan turned to Mamoru, whatever had pissed off the almost too easy going man was not going to be something that any of them liked.

"That did not answer the question." Keenan said softly, "What are you trying to hide."

Finally, Mamoru sat up and glared at Jed before saying, "Zoicite challenged me to a duel over the rainbow crystals, tonight."

"You surely aren't thinking of going." Keenan stated, not asked, but stated.

Jed jumped up and began pacing the room, "Of course he is. Why else would I have called you over here. The stupid prick is planning on going because of a feeling that he needs to. And this is on top of being severely injured when they set a trap for him, today." By the end of this Jed was nearly shouting, and Nathan put a hand on his shoulder, trying to force calm onto the empath. But, Jed just shook his hand off, 'just let me be angry' his eyes said.

Nathan held his hands up in the classic not armed position. It wasn't often that Jed refused a dose of calm. They had discovered this technique when they had been young, and poor Jed had been surrounded by the whims of every person's emotions, he couldn't control the influx. One afternoon, Nathan then Nephrite had found Jed huddling under a staircase sobbing. Nathan had sat down next to him and just watched him for a little bit, not really saying anything. Eventually Jadeite's tears had slowed and he looked at Nephrite with surprise, "Why aren't they changing?" he had asked.

Nephrite had given him a confused look, "What?"

Jadeite had waved his arm around slightly, his six year old mind unable to explain properly, "Why aren't I happy now or angry? Why do I feel like mamma just wrapped a warm blanket around me or like I am alone outside?"

Nephrite still had a confused look and he shrugged.

Jadeite gave him a thoughtful look and than hopped to his feet, "Come with me."

"Where?"

"I wanna see something."

Pulling Nephrite behind him, Jadeite had led them to one of the busiest parts of the castle. Cautiously, he opened the door to the kitchens and his ears were assaulted by the clangs of pots and pans. Nephrite watched as Jadeite hesitantly made his way to the middle of the room. When he got there, there was a pain on his face that belonged on a much older persons, an aching tiredness. After a moment of just standing there, not visibly doing anything, Jadeite beckoned Nephrite over. Nephrite walked across the floor faster than Jadeite had, and when Nephrite was within reach, Jadeite had leapt and grabbed his arm like a lifeline. Nephrite happened to be looking at his face, so he saw the agony melt away.

Jadeite had surveyed him for a moment before asking in a voice that was heartbreakingly hopeful, "Nephrite, are you always like this?"

Nephrite thought for a moment, and then nodded.

The grip on his arm had tightened, and Jadeite's eyes were shining, "Will you let me hold your hand when I need to, please? Pretty please?"

Seeing the joy radiating from his fellow guard, Nephrite couldn't help but nod.

It wasn't until later that they had found out that the mystic's perpetual calm was what Jadeite had felt and latched onto. Eventually, Jadeite had learned to control his empathetic capabilities and was finally happy within his own skin.

'But' Nathan thought suddenly, 'Jed said that he had a protective mechanism when he was a kid this time around, why didn't it kick in last time?'

Nathan glanced speculatively at Jed, and his mind slowly put the pieces together, the only difference between now and then was that Jed had not had his full capabilities, so his empathy was probably a weaker version that his mind could handle blocking. Nathan nodded, satisfied with this reasoning.

It was Zane's voice that brought Nathan fully back to the present, "If he wants to go, why shouldn't he?"

The room was so silent you could hear a slice of bread drop, which, of course, is ten times quieter than any pin. All the other men turned to look at the boy who had a surprisingly serene look on his face.

Jed placed his hand on Zane's forehead, checking for a temperature. "Are you feeling okay, kid?"

Zane pushed his hand away, "Of course I'm okay. It's just that you all seem to be forgetting something while you are too busy being angry at Mamoru. He's right, he can't avoid this fight. Didn't you hear what they said, Zoicite knows where he lives, who he is. He could set up any number of traps, at least in this case Mamoru will have the advantage of expecting a trap."

They stared at him. The thing was...he was right.

"Fine I yield." Jed told Mamoru who merely nodded, his mind already on the next day.

Jed exchanged a glance with the other Shitennou. If Mamoru thought that they were going to let him go alone, without the very least some form of back up, he had another thing coming.

Nathan stared up at the night sky. Tomorrow was going to be big, he could feel it. That he couldn't read the stars at all confirmed it. They were only silent when an event of epic proportions was set in motion. 'A catalyst' his mind kept whispering to him. 'Something that will start a chain of events that is unstoppable'. Even if Zane hadn't stepped in, Mamoru had been right, tomorrow had to happen the way it was set. He of all people understood the importance of following feelings.

Sighing, he laid his head back and shut his eyes, content to bask in the stars' glow even if he couldn't hear them.

On the other side of the knoll that Nathan was laying on, a girl sat propped against a tree. Her brown hair out of its customary ponytail. Her arms were curled around her knees, and she was hoping desperately for a rainstorm. But, the cloudless skies didn't hold any promise. She could feel a storm building in her marrow, and her blood ran cold at the thought that it would result in not rain, but blood.

She had come out here trying to escape the electricity only she could feel in the air, and years of feeling this sort of thing in softer tones, she knew that there was no way that the storm coming had anything to do with weather. So, here she sat, trying to calm down when even baking wouldn't do the job.

She gazed at the stars, not really seeing them, instead looking between them at the infinite emptiness. And she imagined that the black was not really emptiness but a comfort to the poor stars, a sort of blanket that wrapped around them and kept them warm. Perhaps even a lover.

Snorting at her own thoughts, the brunette closed her eyes. A lover, indeed. She knew that she was a hopeless romantic, but really, this was going to far.

Jed was staring at his ceiling, trying in vain to clear his mind. He had trouble with it at the best of times, and these circumstances certainly did not help his efforts. He didn't want to think, he wanted his thoughts to leave him alone. But his mind refused to stop picking at thoughts of tomorrow. Calculating the odds of survival. Wondering what was going to happen when Mamoru got there. Pondering the likelihood that all four Shitennou could get into the tower without Zoicite realizing that they had.

He punched his pillow and settled back into it. He had never been one for premonition, but this time he thought he could hazard a guess, tomorrow was going to be a bad day.

The next day dawned annoyingly sunny. On a day like the day that Zane knew was coming, it should have been rain clouds and thunderstorms. Apparently, fate did not know how to set the mood correctly.

He got out of bed at an early noon, and even though he had gone to bed just six hours before, he did not feel an ounce tired. Nervous, yes. Tired, no.

Zane stretched, and when he glanced at the clock, her swore in five different languages. He was late. Keenan had told them as they left Mamoru's complex to meet at the gym today at 12:30. He rushed, pulling on the first things his hands came into contact with. Grabbing his skateboard, he raced from his apartment.

He managed to get there only a quarter of an hour late. He ran into the room, puffing slightly, "Sorry, Keenan, I slept through my alarm." 'Which I forgot to set.' he added silently.

Keenan gave him a disapproving look, before saying shortly, "Spar with Jed." and returning his gaze to Nathan. Who was in his full General Nephrite garb. Nathan, no, Nephrite looked like he was concentrating really hard on his outstretched palm.

Jed whispered to Zane, "You missed it, Keenan admitted that it was a mistake to wait on practicing magic skills. He said that he thought it best that we get our mortal skills back where they were first, so we don't use magic as a crutch. Normally, a good thought, but not when we are up to our eyes in enemies."

"I don't hear you men fighting," Keenan called without turning from Nephrite, who had managed to make the air above his hand spark slightly. "Nephrite, you are not trying, you used to be able to call a miniature star in your sleep."

Jed shook is head and mouthed, 'He's been demanding today.' Zane raised his eyebrows as if to ask, 'Are you really surprised?' Jed shook his head and raised his blade, "En garde, you fiend!"

Zane dropped into a fighting stance. Their skills with the blades had returned quickly. Zane would have ascribed it to muscle memory, but these weren't the same muscles. At least, he didn't think they were. Then again, they could be. What were the chances that their...souls for lack of a better term, had been placed in bodies that had the exact genes of their old ones. Actually, it was as though they had been de-aged and sent to the future. But, that was impossible, wasn't it?

It wasn't until he felt Jade's blade resting against his neck that he realized that he wasn't giving the fight the concentration it deserved. Wasn't paying it any attention at all, in fact. His gaze slid up the sword to Jed's face. Jed was giving him an amused smile," Mate, what have we told you about thinking when you fight?"

Zane had the grace to look slightly abashed and opened his mouth to speak, when there was a whooshing sound and a loud crash. Both men turned to Nephrite and Keenan. Nephrite looked pleased with himself, but Keenan had an unimpressed look on his face.

"Again." Keenan ordered softly.

Nephrite raised his right hand and concentrated a moment before there was a slight popping sound and a small ball of gas appeared, hovering over his palm. Nephrite brought his left hand up, cupping the air around the ball. It steadily grew until he was holding a volley ball sized star. He pulled his hand back and threw it at the target, which shattered on contact.

Keenan merely nodded in scant approval and said, "Keep practicing until you can do that without thinking about it. As for you two, let's see how you do when you are fighting two enemies.

Mamoru walked down the street, unaware of the four sets of eyes boring into his back.

"He's more injured than I though," Jed muttered to his fellow stalkers. "Normally he has a sixth sense when he is being watched." he paused thinking, "Unless he is arguing with his Odango Atama...I really need to find out what that girl's real name is. Motoki mentioned it, I think, but if he did, I've forgotten."

Nathan's hand slapped across Jed's mouth, "Shut up! Do you want to be seen?" he hissed.

He need not have worried because at that precise moment, Mamoru was being assaulted by a blond pig tailed girl. Nathan's hand slipped from Jed's mouth in surprise, and Jed chuckled to himself, "They really do run into each other everywhere."

Jed leaned himself against a wall, ready for a shouting match...which never came. When Mamoru began walking away without a single insult to his credit, Jed yelped and Nathan slapped his hand back in place. Annoyed, Jed stuck his nails into Nathan's wrist to get him to let go. Nathan grunted in pain and released him.

Jed turned to the others, fear in his eyes, "He thinks he's gonna die."

"What?" Zane gaped at him.

"He was nice to that girl. He's never nice to that girl."

"So? Maybe he just didn't feel like being mean."

"You don't understand! What was he doing the first time we saw him?"

Nathan thought for a moment, "He was walking, reading a book, and then a blond girl ran into him. Oh, was that her?"

"Of course it was!"

"And?" Nathan asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Look, they have a pattern, they see each other, they fight. Under any circumstances. Like, two weeks ago, they stood in the pouring rain, shouting."

"While this is a fascinating look into Mamoru's life, get to it, what's your point?"

Jed ran his fingers through his hair, "Don't you guys go to the movies or watch tv?" They shook their heads, "There is one bit of psychology that they get right, when a person thinks they are going to die, they change their patterns. A miser suddenly becomes generous, a timid person says what they really think and goes sky diving, and when a person teases somebody, they try to atone in someway. Or admits their undying love, but this is Endymion we are talking about."

"And?"

"My God, you're dense!" Jed shouted, the others hissed and looked to where Mamoru had been. Neither he nor the girl was there. Without discussing it, they sprinted in the direction he had been headed. None of them noticed four girls in varying colors leaping from building to building above their heads.

When they caught up with Mamoru, he was standing at the end of an alleyway, peering out, and the girl was two feet behind him. They crept forward and hid behind a conveniently placed dumpster, only a few feet away from the two. They had just managed to hide themselves when the girl grabbed his shoulder and Mamoru swung around to hit her, but stopped his hand just in front of her face. Jed felt Keenan shake his head slightly, and he grinned, he could imagine him thinking, 'Good form and control, but you shouldn't have let her sneak up on you. What if she'd been an enemy?'

"Odango! What are you doing here?" Mamoru hissed.

"I was worried about you, you jerk." the girl fumed.

"Don't. You go home. Now."

Mamoru turned and strode forward, and Jed waited until the girl followed to whisper again, "They try to atone in someway."

"That was being nice?" Zane asked suspiciously.

Before Jed could answer, Keenan whispered, "He was protecting her."

Jed stared at Keenan, and Nathan snorted, "And he wouldn't if it had been anyone else?"

Rubbing his forehead, Jed groaned silently, "Just trust me, alright? He thinks he's going to die."

"Like you trusted me when I said our meeting was fated?"

"That's different. This is proved psychology, not mystical mumbo jumbo."

"Mumbo jumbo? That's what most people consider the crap your supposed scientists shovel."

"Uh." Zane said, Nathan and Jed ignored him in favor of bickering. He tried again, "Uh, guys?" Only Keenan looked at him. "Hey!" Zane snapped.

The other two looked at him and growled, "What?"

Zane poked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing, "The trap has been sprung."

Sure enough, when they looked, Mamoru and the girl were trapped in a black orb and sinking into the Earth.

Keenan's jaw dropped, "That's mine." he said stupidly.

Although it was really wasn't the right time, Jed's shoulders began to shake from ill-concealed mirth. Seeing this, Keenan closed his mouth and scowled, embarrassed about being caught off guard.

"Where do you suppose they went?" Zane asked staring at the ground that they had disappeared into.

Closing his eyes, Nathan relaxed his shoulders. Breathing deeply as though meditating. After a few minutes, he slowly opened them. "The twenty-third floor of the tower."

"Let's go, then." Keenan straightened and purposefully but carefully made his way to the front door. It was locked. Reinforced steal and a highly efficient alarm.

Jed scratched his head, "Any of you know how to pick this lock?" At their blank looks, he sighed, "Maybe we should find another entrance."

A moment after the Shitennou went around the corner, four slightly winded girls landed on the pavement.

"Is she in there, Mercury?" the orange clad girl asked the one in blue.

Mercury tapped incomprehensibly on her mini-computer, "Yes, with Zoicite and a signature my computer doesn't recognize."

"Could it be Tuxedo Kamen?" the Senshi from Jupiter asked.

Mercury sighed, "It could be. He has always disappeared before I could get his signature."

She snapped her computer closed and they made their way for the door. But, when they were no more than fifteen feet away, the building before them shook, parts of it seeming to stretch, others shrinking. When the quaking stopped, the building was unrecognizable. It looked like it was made up of black stone, and was all jagged edges.

The girls exchanged a look and simultaneously turned to look at Mercury who sighed and pulled her computer back out. "She's in the elevator," Mercury said pointing her computer's viewer at it, she zoomed in. "With Mamoru."

"Mamoru? We need to get in there, now! She can't transform with him in there!" Mars shouted, trying in vain to cover the panic in her voice with anger, "Stupid Odango-Atama!"

"How?" Venus asked in a curious tone.

"Excuse me." Jupiter said suddenly, before crossing her arms, her palms on her shoulders, "Supreme Thunder!" Noticing her friends' stares, she shrugged and smiled, "Let's go."

"I'm telling you, it is not normal for a building to suddenly change shapes like that." Jed stated as they walked toward the building's fourth and final corner.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Zane rolled his eyes, "There's a guy in there with control over rocks and minerals, why do you think that it changed?"

Jed laughed as they finished 360 degrees of walking, and nearly ran into Nathan who had stopped. "Don't stop in front of me," he whined before noticing the huge gap in the building. "Hey look, some one's opened the door for us."

"Moon Prism Power...Makeup!" Usagi shouted, her arm punching the air.

'Think Usagi.' she ordered herself as her body went through the motions of transforming, 'There is a gigantic fireball speeding towards you, and you are practically in an oven. You and Baka are about to be baked like mama's cookies unless you do something.'

Images of burnt cookies dancing in her head, Sailor Moon took in the whole elevator in less than half a second. Ignoring both the fireball and Mamoru's shocked look, she ran her eyes along the walls. Nothing there except the doors. Doors. Double steel doors. Like an oven. The outside of an oven never gets dangerously hot. The half-second her adrenaline driven mind processed this, she leapt at the doors. 'Thank God for super strength', she thought wryly as she yanked the door from its track. She swung the door over her and Mamoru's heads, bracing it against the wall and floor, forming a triangle of enclosed space. And not a second too soon.

"That was just a little too close for my tastes," she muttered as the fire rushed by the elevator.

When all was silent, she pushed the door up against the opposite wall. Still she ignored the slightly shell shocked look on Mamoru's face and wrapped an arm around his waist, pretending not to notice the shiver it sent through her. Grasping him securely, she bent her knees and propelled them up the four stories to the roof where Zoicite stood, rehearsing, "He died in an accident, my queen." It was said in a clearly dishonest tone.

"Some accident." She grumbled and Zoicite whirled around.

Disconcertingly, Zoicite laughed. "This is just precious, we set our trap for Tuxedo Kamen and caught Sailor Moon too. Don't worry, Sailor Moon, I'll take care of you along with Tuxedo Kamen."

Sailor Moon started, and even though she knew what he meant, still she said, "Tuxedo Kamen? He isn't even here."

The cursed elevators weren't working. There were over forty floors in this damned tower, and the elevators were down. Zane eyed Nathan speculatively as they ran up the stairs between the sixth and seventh floors. "Hey, Nathan, have you been able to teleport yet?"

Nathan just shook his head, not even bothering to waste his breath speaking. Zane sighed, running up thirty five more flights of stairs it was.

Tuxedo Kamen stalked forward, and Sailor Moon stood behind him feeling afraid. Afraid they would lose, yes. But more afraid that something would happen to Tuxedo Kamen. She had known that she at least liked both Mamoru and Tuxedo Kamen for a while. Ironically, it was thanks to Rei that she realized that she liked Mamoru more than enemies, more than sparring partner, more than friend. It had made her blood boil to see him with Rei. She had taken a sick pleasure in seeing that he never seemed to be having a good time on their so called dates. She had sat numerous evenings pondering why she felt like she could both kill Rei and die herself when she saw them together. Then one night she had been gazing at the moon, and it had come to her. So simple. So complex. She loved him. And she had cried because she had no claim to him, and she was confused because didn't she love Tuxedo Kamen? It was a relief that they were one and the same, or at least it would have been if the stupid man wasn't risking his life right now.

Sailor Moon was so absorbed by her thoughts that she failed to hear the crunching sounds of rock crystallizing. Tuxedo Kamen didn't hear it either. No, what he heard were the same words that Zoicite had said when he had double crossed him the first time. Without thinking, he leapt in front of Sailor Moon.

The rock tore through his skin in an agonizing pressure. He nearly passed out, but oddly, Jed's story about the blade in Endymion's leg made him determined to not faint. He lay there, breathing heavily, trying to get used to the feeling of a foreign object in his back, even as he felt his blood running down his skin. The pain distracted him, but after a moment, he became aware that it was raining on his face. That's odd, he didn't feel rain on any other part of him. His mind was working so sluggishly, and he frowned, not knowing if it appeared physically or not. The old tune "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head" was circling in his mind, even as he tried to understand their presence on his cheek.

It took a bit, but he finally realized that somebody was crying. For him. Nobody had ever done that before. He felt his heart swell, he knew only one person who would cry for him, Usagi. He slowly opened his eyes. His eyelids felt like they weighed ten tons each. When he could finally see Usagi, no, Sailor Moon, he felt his heart break a little. She looked like an angel in the moonlight, but she was crying. Panic filled him. Was she hurt?

"Sailor Moon are you alright?" he asked, he had to know, even if speaking felt like he was talking through water.

"I'm fine, thanks to you." She raised his hand to her cheek, and he forced his thumb to move, to wipe at least one of her tears away. To prove that he could help, at least a little.

"Then why are you crying?" That wasn't right. Angels shouldn't cry. Especially not this one. This one wailed and fumed, but did not cry. She was too happy, too good for that.

She held his hand tighter and whispered, "You can't leave me, Tuxedo Kamen."

No, he couldn't leave her. He needed her. Didn't she know that is why he fought with her so much, just to be near her. To hear her musical voice. To have her eyes on him. Then it hit him. The feeling was mutual. She wanted him to stay. He wanted to stay, too. So, what was the problem?

As if to remind him, a jolt of electricity ran through his spine, and he stilled trying to avoid that sensation at all costs. He floated in a dark cloud, but he hadn't passed out because he could still feel her tear drops on her face. He wondered if there was a way that he could keep them.

He felt a rush run through him, unlike the other one. This one was warming, waking up in a cozy bed on a winter morning. And suddenly, he remembered. Not his childhood, but his past life. The Shitennou had been telling him the truth all along. He was Prince Endymion. A lifetime of memories ran through his mind in a blur, but they slowed when an angel appeared. He watched his life with Princess Serenity, and he knew that his heart would belong to her always, no matter who she was. No matter who he was. If she was Serenity, he would be her Endymion. If she was Usagi, he was her Mamoru, and if she were Sailor Moon, he would be her Tuxedo Kamen. Always there to protect her. Always there to love her.

He winced when the memories stopped being so happy. He saw the great CE as Jed had called it, and he would have laughed hollowly if he could. It was such a stupid thing that set it off, Jed would be disappointed.

He wanted to see her again. But his memories wouldn't let him. Fine, he didn't need memories, they were a poor substitute anyway. Again, he fought his eyes open, and for a moment thought that he was back in his memories, for Princess Serenity was sitting there, holding his head on her lap. Her lap, which was so soft and warm, there was no place he'd rather be.

Suddenly, he realized that he needed her to acknowledge the past, and again he threw his words against the barrier, trying to press them out into the air. "Princess Serenity, I am Endymion."

If he could raise his arm, he would have slapped his forehead. What a stupid and arrogant way to talk. But, she acknowledged him, and cried his name over and over. Somehow it soothed him.

He could feel the darkness pulling at his consciousness. He tried to fight it, he wanted to stay with her, but he couldn't. He slumped into unconsciousness, never knowing that he shared it with her.

The Senshi had arrived at the top of the stair in time to see the rock plunge into Tuxedo Kamen's back. They watched in awe as their klutzy Sailor Moon transformed into their princess. Each one had parts of their memory return, and they wondered how they could have missed it before. Just add gracefulness and a lifetime of princess lessons to Usagi, and you get Princess Serenity.

When she collapsed, the fear that ran through them was so powerful that they trembled. Racing to get to her. Ami held her head on her lap as the others tried to find if Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon were alright. At their okay, she let out a sigh of relief. Even if Tuxedo Kamen was badly injured, there was still hope, especially with their healing speeds. He just needed time, and perhaps medical attention. If it came to that, she could tell her mom, she'd help and she would probably keep silent on the subject. Ami had only neglected to tell her, so as to protect her. No one knew who was listening when.

Because she was the only one facing the elevator, she saw when General Kunzite arrived and held Zoicite to his side, giving him support. The others quickly spun around, sensing the danger. But Kunzite merely said that he would allow them to live, for now. And when they began to leave she felt relief that was all to brief, because a black orb surrounded Mamoru. They all disappeared together.

The others had turned to see Mamoru disappear, so when the door to the roof was flung open yet again, she was the only one to see the strange apparition of two dead generals and the two generals who had just left in modern day clothes. If her eyes didn't deceive her, Zoicite was wearing jeans of all things. Only Kunzite was not a mirror image of himself, his hair was cropped quite close. She gaped at them while they took in the scene.

The other Senshi, seeing the look on Mercury's face slowly turned around and froze.

It was Kunzite who spoke first, "Where is he? Where's Prince Endymion?"

* * *

I know it seems like I am going fast, but this fiction is way longer than anything I have ever written before, and I plan to span this into the second season, I am not sure how far I'll go, perhaps to chibi-usa's enterance?

A quick guide to the Shitennou's powers in this fiction:

Kunzite: darkness/dark energy and barriers

Jaedite: empath and wind

Zoicite: rocks/minerals and telekinetic

Nephrite: stars and premonition


	5. Am I Fighting You or Are You Fighting Me

Yay, the fifth chapter. I changed the way Kunzite died so the story flows better. When I talk about the Venus of war, I was thinking of the Armed Venus statue from the Roman period in the 2nd century. I saw it in the Louvre, and since Venus isn't known for fighting, I found it interesting, and thought of it when I was writing that description. Sorry, there is a lot of time passing segments and that I basically wrote out the actions of the last episode, but for the first, I don't like writing what was shown on the show and on the second, I couldn't write this end scene without doing that, but I didn't want to change it because I thought that the last episodes were perfect the way the were. Argh. I hate writing in the present tense, so I found Nephrite's...commentary? story? retelling? what ever it was, particularly trying to write. And then part of me had trouble getting out of the present tense.

* * *

For what seemed like eternity, but was really only a minute or two, the prince and princess' guards stood staring at each other, sizing each other up. No one moved, time itself seemed to have stopped.

It was Mars who got her senses back first, she glared at them, "I think you would know better than us, wouldn't you general." Not waiting for a response, she clapped her hands together, pointing her index fingers like a gun, "FIRE SO..."

Venus' arm knocked the other girl's down, startling Mars into unclasping her hands. Mars scowled at her leader. From their flashes of memory, she knew that Venus had always been in charge, but Mars was beginning to think that she preferred Sailor Moon as the leader. At least she had never stopped her in the middle of an attack.

Sensing the betrayal in Mars' eyes, Venus closed her eyes for a moment. She had forgotten how...high maintenance Princess Raye of Mars had always been. Not in the classic sense that she needed to be spoiled, but in that it was surprisingly easy to misstep with her. She was a hard worker and would generally take orders, but sometimes she got obstinate for no apparent reason. She was somebody that Venus would always trust with her back in a fight, but was hard to live with in everyday life. Don't get her wrong, Venus had always been good friends with Mars, but she had always shuddered at the thought that another inner Senshi might have turned out to be so headstrong as well. If they had, the palace would have been destroyed long before the war.

She opened her eyes, "Mars, we do not set fire to those who surprise us, just because they surprise us."

Mars gaped at her, "Venus, are you feeling alright? In case you didn't notice, those are the generals right over there. They've finally ganged up on us!"

"Did you actually look at them Mars?" When Mars didn't answer, Venus sighed and turned to the silver haired one who seemed to be in charge of the generals. "Would you and your men mind lining up and standing with your hands where we can see them?"

The man gave her a suspicious look, and suddenly she recognized him from all those weeks ago, he was that military man! He was about to answer, when the one that looked like Zoicite grabbed his wrist and whispered to him. The captain, as she had dubbed him, frowned before nodding slightly, and the four men lined up, their hands clasped in front of them.

She gave the captain a brief smile before turning to the bluenette, who was still acting as a pillow for Sailor Moon. "Mercury, what do you think of these men?"

Mercury tapped her earring and the blue screen slid in front of eyes and she pulled open her computer. She pointed it at each man in turn, clearly scanning them. "There is no discernible difference between their signatures and the Generals..."

Jupiter raised her hands, "I'm with Mars on this one then. SUPREME THUN..."

Venus merely turned and gave Jupiter a hard stare, and the Jovian lowered her arms somewhat sheepishly. Without removing her gaze from Jupiter's, she said, "Please continue Mercury."

The bluenette cleared her throat slightly, "As I was saying, there is no discernible differences, and that works in their favor." At Mar's raised eyebrow, she said defensively, "It does! Nephrite died the last time we saw him, and yet there he is standing in front of us."

"Maybe he didn't really die." Mars hissed, "Sure, he turned to dust, but maybe that was just another of his powers."

Nephrite's look-alike smiled slightly and said, "I can assure you that I have never had the power to disassemble and reassemble myself."

Far from reassuring Mars, this seemed some sort of proof of her accusation. "There, you see, he claimed the same powers as Nephrite!"

"Nice going, numbskull," a sardonic voice said that caused Mars' hackles to rise immediately, she had been ignoring him until this point, but hearing him talk brought the memory of all the horrible things he had done. In those memories, though, was a vague image of him laughing like a child. She pushed it away, because she knew that Jadeite had never laughed like a child, he laughed like a...snake would if it could laugh, arrogant, cold, and sarcastic. Without thinking, she pulled out one of her numerous talismans and shouted, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen. Evil Spirits Begone!" And threw the slip of paper at Jadeite.

The talisman attached itself to his forehead and did absolutely nothing. Everyone stared at her, even as she stared at Jadeite. "Why isn't it working?" she muttered to herself, looking at the other talismans in her hands as though they might have a defect she had missed while preparing them.

Finally, Venus spoke hesitantly, "Um...Mars, what was that?"

Mars didn't answer, too busy comparing the papers to her knowledge of Shinto exorcisms. They looked perfect, as always. It was Mercury who answered, "She just tried to exorcise him."

The man that the attack had been aimed at started to chuckle and then to laugh, until tears of mirth were rolling down his face. He pulled the paper off his forehead and stuffed it in his pocket, as a memento for the occasion. Even his fellow generals were looking at him as if he was insane, finally he was able to calm enough to say, "Mother always said I was the devil incarnate, but this is the first time someone has tried to send me to hell!" He made the mistake of looking at Mars who was now blushing bright red, and his laughter returned full force.

Nephrite cleared his throat, "Maybe if I transformed?"

Venus frowned, "It's not that we don't trust you..."

"Yeah it is," Jupiter muttered interrupting, and Nephrite's mouth hooked slightly.

Venus gave her a look and she made the motion to lock her lips and throw away the key. "As I was saying, it is not as if we don't trust you, but do you mind if one of us powers up as precaution?"

"Not at all." Nephrite said making a small bow, and the captain's gaze fastened on him, asking 'what are you doing?'.

Venus nodded at Jupiter who grinned. She held up her hands and called upon her planet, her head band crackled with electricity. She seemed unperturbed by the large amounts of voltage racing across her head band, building up from the lack of release.

Nathan forced himself to relax and ignore the beautiful and dangerous Senshi. He closed his eyes and slid easily into Nephrite's form. Opening his eyes, he saw several unimpressed Senshi.

"What?" Mars said sarcastically, "We're supposed to believe him just because he changed his clothes?"

Mercury glanced fearfully at her irritable friend before rushing to add, "We don't really know much about the General's uniforms. I would suspect that when you power up you don't get a choice in your outfit, like us..."

"Damn right we didn't get a choice," Mars muttered, "It's not as easy as it looks to fight in stilettos."

"But, it could be different for the generals," Mercury finished. She gestured for Venus to switch places with her and eased Sailor Moon's head onto Venus' lap before standing and walking up close to the generals, as though inspecting them.

Suddenly she stood in front of Kunzite's twin, "Do you mind if I touch your hair?" She asked, blushing like mad. The jaws of both Jupiter and Mars dropped, Mercury was never so forward.

The man looked at his companions, all of whom were trying to keep from laughing. He frowned but slowly lowered his head to where she might be able to touch it. Even with how far he bent his head, Mercury still had to stand on her tip toes to touch his hair. It was soft, as she suspected it would be.

Releasing his hair, she turned to her companions, she announced, "He has not had a haircut recently."

Venus gave her a weird look, "Call me slow, but what does that matter?"

Jupiter looked thoughtful, "Oh, I get it. Kunzite had long hair when he disappeared two seconds before they appeared at the door. If he had cut his hair, the ends would be even and probably coarser."

"So?" Mars snapped, "Maybe his civilian disguise has short hair, and so all he needed to do was transform."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you, Firebird." the man who looked like Jadeite said dryly. "Nephrite is able to disintegrate and reform at will, Kunzite has short hair in his civilian disguise, what about me? I was just on vacation for the past four months, was I?"

Mars scowled, "It's possible."

He laughed a softer version of before, "Yes, I am sure any one of those is possible on its own, but it just seems a tad far fetched when you put them altogether."

"I would rather be credulous of a far-fetched danger than a supposedly reasonable idea. How would I feel if I believed you and died because of it?"

The man scratched his head, "Well, I'd reckon you wouldn't feel anything at all. Being dead, and all."

"You know what I meant," she hissed.

Before the bickering could escalate, Mercury cleared her throat. "I have one more piece of evidence." she volunteered.

They turned to her and she walked to stand in front of the Zoicite look-alike, "Jump please."

The blond boy gave her a strange look before complying. He jumped several times without trouble. Mercury gave him a shy smile and he felt his cheeks redden slightly.

"This is definitely not Zoicite." Mercury announced, "He is in perfect health, and as we saw when Zoicite left, he was just this side of consciousness." Looking at Mars, she added before the other girl could speak, "No there is no way that magic could have healed him in two seconds. Do you really think so little of the Ginzuishou and our princess?"

The black haired girl closed her mouth.

Jupiter called to not-Nephrite, "Do you think you could de-transform? I'm starting to feel my hair frizz."

The man chuckled and obliged, and immediately, Jupiter shouted, "Supreme Thunder." She hit the wall parallel to them. The little shed disintegrated on the spot, and Jupiter rubbed her neck and muttered, "Oops?" A twinkle in her eye belying any pretense of innocence.

Nathan smiled to himself, that was cute.

Just then, a groan caught all their ears, and in an instant the girls surrounded Venus and Sailor Moon. Moon's eyes fluttered open, and she seemed to take a moment to process who she was seeing. "Minna? What happened?"

"You passed out, you Odango Atama, you used up all your energy," Sailor Mars snapped, not noticing the sharpening of not-Jadeite's gaze and the thoughtful look that passed across his face.

Sailor Moon slowly sat up, when she was upright, she gasped, "Where is he? Tuxedo Kamen! Where is he? Tell me."

"He's alive!" Mars shouted, trying to circumvent Moon's panic. She remembered the way that Serenity had died last time, and she could not lose her princess, not now.

"Really?" Hope and fear warred in Moon's eyes.

The Senshi of fire sighed, "Really, but Moon, he was taken by our enemy." Her head bowed ashamed.

"Our enemy?" Sailor Moon muttered, her face looking deep in thought.

Before anyone could say anything, a blue light appeared in the sky above their heads, and streaked down to not-Zoicite. When it hit him, his knees collapsed and he seemed to be praying, his head thrust back. Everybody exchanged looks as the blue light surrounded him. They heard him gasp as the light seemed to be absorbed by his body. He took several deep breaths trying to re-oxygenate his blood cells, and force his lungs to work. He felt like he had been kicked in the chest.

Finally, when his breathing slowed to normal, he noticed eight sets of eyes on him, and in explanation murmured, "Zoicite is dead."

"That's so not fair." Jed muttered.

"And you would know this how?" Venus asked, then held up her hand, "Wait, scratch that, who the hell are you?"

Keenan cleared his throat, "We are Prince Endymion's guard. I'm..."

"Prince Endymion?" Sailor Moon said suddenly, "If you are his guard why didn't you stop him from being taken? That's your job isn't it?"

The four men winced at the truth of her words, and Keenan opened his mouth to speak.

"No!" she shouted hysterically, "I don't want to hear it. Any explanation you have will just be excuses. I was all alone, trying to protect him. Where were you?"

Keenan's mouth was left half open, as though he was trying to decide if he would be in more trouble for explaining or for not answering her questions. The decision was taken out of his hands as Sailor Moon collapsed into a trembling pile. She was shaking, but no one could hear her tears. Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars exchanged glances. Crybaby Usagi wasn't wailing. These silent sobs were more disconcerting than the decibel level that she usually hit when she cried. Jupiter wrapped her arms around Moon's shoulders. "Come on Sailor Moon, let's get you home. You've had a long few days, you need to sleep, and then we'll think of a kick ass plan to save Mamoru." Jupiter glanced at Venus, silently asking permission to be dismissed. Venus nodded minusculely, and Jupiter slowly walked Sailor Moon out of the tower.

Venus waited until the two girls were out of earshot to turn back to the men who were starting to look uncomfortable. "Well, what are your names? And where were you really?"

For a third time, Keenan opened his mouth to speak, he glanced around to make sure he wouldn't be interrupted. Satisfied he said, "We are Endymion's guards but under his orders. We had to trail after him to be sure he wouldn't see us and order us to go home, but by the time we got to the tower, he was already locked inside. Then, the elevators didn't work and we had to run up those stairs."

Venus nodded, "I can believe that, but what are your names? I can't just keep calling you 'not-Kunzite', can I?" she asked winking.

"That's where it gets a little sticky. Er. Are you familiar with the Silver Millennium?"

"Of course, we were Princess Serenity's guards just before the downfall."

"Did you know Prince Endymion?"

"I saw him here and there." she prevaricated.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get anything more than that out of her, he sighed, "We were, in fact, Generals Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoicite." Hearing Mars hiss, he hastened to add, "We died at the fall of it. Reawakening here as Keenan, Nathan, Jed, and Zane."

"Alright fine, but how did...Zane, right?...know that Zoicite was dead? And if you guys were the generals in the past life, who the hell have we been fighting?"

Zane stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Endymion figured it out, actually. It turns out that the Dark Kingdom was able to sap our powers without our realizing it, and placed them into controllable bodies. So, when the Dark Kingdom generals die, we regain them."

"So that blue light was your power." Mercury stated, and Zane grinned at her, "Precisely."

"Then the only one of you who doesn't have your powers is Kunzite...Keenan, right?" Mercury clarified.

Jed's mouth twisted into a smile, "Not exactly. Turns out Jadeite is not actually dead."

"What?"

"He's not dead. Did you just assume he was? Did you have any proof?"

Mercury blushed, "Well we just stopped seeing him, and after a while it seemed clear that he was dead."

"Surprise." Jed said sardonically.

Mars' mouth thinned, she did not like Jed's condescension.

There was a lull in the interrogation, and Zane tapped his lip for a moment, thinking, before seeming to come to a decision. "Who's Sailor Moon? My memory of the old lore doesn't mention a Senshi from the moon."

The three girls tensed simultaneously, as though Zane was treading dangerously close to a secret they would rather their new acquaintances not know. Finally, Venus laughed lightly, "The Senshi from the moon has always been more of an...honorary title than anything. She was around, but she didn't fight. She's had to learn on the fly this time around."

Zane tilted his head, that seemed plausible, but it still felt as though they were hiding something. It was frustrating, only having half a memory from that time. He had thought that once he got his powers back he would get his memories too. But, it seemed that wasn't the case. His memory was still only complete until he was about seventeen, and then holes started appearing, by the time he hit nineteen, it was all blank. Worse, though, was that he got a strange feeling of deja vu about this whole interaction. Keenan and Venus talking as though they were both walking on egg shells, Jed teasing Mars, and Mars getting huffy or ignoring him, He and Mercury just looking on. He even felt a strange sense that he had avoided the urge to stare at Mercury before.

"It's late." Venus noted for everyone's sake, "I think it is time to call it a night, we can think up a way to save Tuxedo Kamen later."

The girls turned to leave, but were stopped by Keenan's voice, "You will include us. He is our prince, our duty and honor."

Venus gave him a penetrating look, but before she spoke, her gaze softened. "Of course. At least, in the planning stage."

It had been a week and neither the Senshi nor the Shitennou had seen hide or hair of Mamoru. Usagi sank deeper and deeper into depression. She didn't even have Senshi business to distract her. Since the fight on the tower, the Dark Kingdom had been annoyingly inactive. Her friends could only look on and worry. Only the girl she didn't know could fathom the pain she was feeling. That's why, one afternoon, it wasn't surprising that it was Minako who was encouraging her to go out. To be busy. She even suggested a haircut.

Usagi had reluctantly agreed to the last, but when she found herself staring in the windows of the newest beauty parlor, she began having doubts. She had had this hairstyle for around thirty two years, and she wasn't even seventeen. But, it did remind her of Mamoru, every time she pulled it up, she could hear his voice saying affectionately, "Odango Atama". She wondered how she had missed the transition in his voice from annoyed teasing into affectionate teasing. How she had missed her own irritation at the name morphing into a fluttering feeling.

She sighed, following Minako into the beauty parlor, at the very least, someone else could wash her hair for a change.

Dark. Cold. He was alone. He was always alone. Had always been. Would always be. He hadn't forgotten. He hadn't forgotten that everyone always left him, his parents, Fiore, even Sailor Moon. He had saved her and then she had abandoned him for her new friends. They told him that he wasn't worth it, that he was disgusting. But, he knew better and he would prove it. He would become ruler of the Negaverse. He knew that Queen Beryl was just using him, but what she consistently forgot, what she consistently missed, was that she could be used, too. That's why when she asked Kunzite if he knew the true identity of Sailor Moon, he had kept his mouth shut. He knew, and it would stay to his advantage if just he knew. He would have gotten the gold star of the day if he had told, but if he didn't and Kunzite continued to fail, then Beryl would rely on him more and more. Besides a part of him that he hadn't been able to throw out whispered, 'We have to protect her, at least a little.'

'He's alive!' The thought circled through her mind over and over again. He was alive. Sure, he was evil, but surely that could be easily overcome. Look at all the human-youmas she had fixed. She'd fixed them with her love and she hadn't even known them. Surely it would be a snap to heal the man she truly loved.

Sailor Venus knocked hesitantly on the door. She had done so many things that were so much more dangerous. And yet, she was shaking and trying to find an excuse to not do this. But, she had promised that she would at least keep them posted. She wondered if it would be easier if she had gone as Minako. Sailor Venus was good in a fight or dangerous situations, but Minako was better at ignoring awkward undertones. They were both the goddess of love, but Sailor Venus was Venus armed, sword at her side. She wasn't flirty like Minako or Princess Mina, she was jaded, the femme fatale.

The door creaked open and there was the captain, not looking at all surprised to see her. Even though it was close to midnight. He was wearing sweats and a tee-shirt, but even they looked pressed, creases perfect. Did the man ever look flustered?

He was giving her a slightly questioning look. Most people wouldn't be able to see it on his expressionless face, but she could. She pushed into his apartment without saying hello. She listened as he slowly shut the door and waited for him to turn around, before saying, her back to him. "Endymion's alive."

"But." He said, it wasn't a question.

She sighed and toyed with a strand of hair, "But, the Negaverse was able to brain wash him."

He didn't say anything, and she continued, "He showed up today, at a beauty parlor where they had a plot to find Sailor Moon or at least find out who she was." She sighed, "I got lucky today. If I hadn't brushed her hair before we went, they surely would have found out." She wondered why she was telling him this. Maybe it was the void that his silence left. Maybe she had an instinctive trust in him. Maybe she was just being stupid.

She curled her arms around herself, protectively. She suddenly felt his hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him move. She turned her head slowly to look at him, and his blank face had just a hint of compassion. He still didn't say anything, but gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. She tried to ignore the warmth that ran through her at such a slight gesture.

After a moment, he removed his hand and she felt him back away. They stood in silence for a few minutes, before he cleared his throat slightly. "How did you know where I live?" It wasn't an accusation but a genuine question sprung from curiosity.

She tensed before saying, almost embarrassed, "I followed you home from the tower."

He nodded as though he had expected as much. "It's just that when we left, I forgot to find a way to contact you generals, and I did promise, didn't I?"

He didn't say anything, they both knew she was lying. Strangely, she didn't feel guilt over not saying that it was to keep an eye on him. She could tell he was a warrior, like her, and knew the first tenet of any war, know you enemy.

She shook her head, "Anyway, I just came to tell you that he is working for the Dark Kingdom. We'll find a way to heal him, I owe the princess that much and more."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't stop them from dying last time. I couldn't protect them. And that was my duty, damn it."

"Do you know how we died?"

The intensity of the question froze her for a moment before she flippantly said, "I'll tell you someday, but only if you are really good."

She made for the door, but his voice stopped her again, "You knew all along, didn't you? You knew that there was more to the generals than just being the Negaverse's lapdogs. And you know how it all ended."

She gave him enigmatic smile as she went through the door, and as it closed, he could swear he heard her murmur, "Of course."

Every battle they saw Tuxedo Kamen, it tore at Sailor Moon's heart. Every time she failed at healing him. She tried every time she saw him, but was never able to. At night she began to wonder if maybe there was a reason she couldn't. Maybe it had always been one sided.

Time passed slowly, imperceptibly. Every day she had to force herself to smile, to pretend that nothing had changed. The first week was the hardest, the week she had had no information on where he was, or whether he was even alive. But, it only got slightly easier when she learned the truth. Her family may have noticed, but passed it off as normal teenage angst. They couldn't know that her heart was breaking.

The Shitennou trained diligently. Their skills with the weapons getting close to the levels they used to have. Nathan and Zane sparred with their magic every chance they got. It was quite something to see a rock fly at one man only to be blasted by a star. Sometimes, Zane would try distracting Nathan with a barrage of rocks, while his telekinesis lifted a sword towards his back, but Nathan's premonition always warned him and he was able to easily dodge both the missiles and the blades. Jed made light of his jealousy, but anyone could see it in his eyes.

Keenan met with Venus every so often to get an update on Endymion. It was just a quick touching base, but Keenan always felt his mood lighten at the encounters. Sometimes the two groups met for tactics and they would spar hand to hand, at least on Keenan and Jed's parts. The first time the Nathan or Zane fought the girls with magic, they had been disconcerted at how easily the Senshi recognized their attacks, while they were flying blind. 'Of course,' Zane had reasoned, 'They had had plenty of practice against our counterparts.'

The Beginning of the End. The phrase haunted Rei the day that Luna had revealed the entrance to the dark kingdom. She knew that something bad was going to happen, but her fires were failing her in a way that had become commonplace. She wanted to know what, exactly, was liable to happen, but they remained annoyingly void, as if time itself hadn't made up its mind.

She was ready to go, to fight. She had to be. The way that Usagi and collapsed in on herself was devastating for Rei. Usagi was such a good person, ditzy, loveable, and thoroughly deserving of a fairytale ending if anyone was. Rei might've been hurting because Mamoru had been taken, but that was nothing to what Usagi was feeling. The way that her blue eyes showed depression instead of happiness when she smiled, that was the hardest for Rei. It was then that she realized how little she had actually "loved" Mamoru in comparison. If she was being honest with herself, she had never really loved him, she had forced herself to try. She could see how loyal he was, and she needed that. After the way she had been surrounded by false and conniving people, she needed somebody who would stay loyal and stand by what they say. And as an added bonus, he was devastatingly handsome. And he was so...taken. She had sensed it even when he had been single and she tried to trap him into dates.

That was why she was ready to go. To get her Usagi back. The ditz who made everyone's day, and was Rei's best friend. Her friend who had come when she needed her most. The others were of a same mind.

But, there was something niggling in her mind, when she stood waiting for Sailor Moon gave the command for the Sailor transport. Something she couldn't quite place.

The North Pole was cold. Colder than Sailor Moon ever imagined it could be. She huddled into her friends as they began walking. It was empty and white. She could remember the palace on the moon, that had been white, too, but it had never been empty. This was a wasteland if Sailor Moon had ever seen one.

They were cautious as they walked forward, but they need not have bothered. Kunzite appeared almost instantly, bringing with him five youmas. Sailor Moon exchanged glances with her Senshi before they got down to business.

"No!" Keenan sat up in his bed, gasping. He could feel it. He could feel his powers. That meant that the Sailor Senshi had left without telling them. They had gone to the Dark Kingdom.

He walked quickly to his phone.

"They went without telling us?" Jed asked angrily.

"Venus has been telling me that they were trying to find a way to the Dark kingdom, and I wake up with my powers fully back, what else am I too think?" Keenan rubbed his forehead.

"Did she give you any clue to where the entrance might be?" Zane tapped his lip, trying to think, if he was an evil overlord, where he would place his kingdom.

Keenan shook his head mutely. Of course she hadn't, she was way too practical to make such a simple mistake.

"Maybe he just pissed off the head honcho." Jed said, not even pretending that it was a possibility.

The look that Keenan gave him was disbelieving. "Yeah, you're a suck up." Jed agreed lightly.

Keenan glared at him, knowing that he didn't mean it. But, the comment still got under his skin. Jed was good at that. And it was a diversionary tactic that Jed had utilized time and time again. Get the target irritated enough to forget his problems. Blasted thing worked on almost everybody. The only one it never did was Keenan who had the perfect defense, not ignoring, but showing his irritation in coldness. Most people have anger that is red hot.

Jed shook his head at his leader, the man just would not break. Just once, he would like to get it so Keenan would at least yell, but he never did. At least with Mamoru, he yelled when he was irritated, reserving coldness for when he was actually, truly angry. It really was no fun at all with Keenan.

Nathan had been looking up at the roof since Keenan had told them his suspicion. Finally, he sighed and returned his gaze to the other men, "The stars won't say. We aren't supposed to be a part of whatever happens there."

"But they could die!" Zane shouted appalled. "We're supposed to sit here and hope that not only can they save our prince, who is our responsibility, but also that they are able to keep the Dark Kingdom from taking over the world?"

There was pity in Nathan's eyes as he gazed at Zane, who squirmed slightly. "Yes. This is their fight, their destiny. Not ours."

"But destiny can be changed." pleaded Zane.

"Fate can't. And the two are just a thin line apart."

Zane opened his mouth, but Jed put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Give it up, mate. Even if we knew where the entrance was, we would get there too late, just like last time. They have had a head start. If they have already killed Kunzite, that means that they are close to where Endymion is. We could never catch up, now."

"So what do we do?" Zane whispered.

Keenan crouched next to the where the younger man sat. "We sit and hope they come out alright." He glanced at Nathan, "How strong is your magic?"

"Nearly at the level it used to be."

"Can you still see what is going on at the present?"

Nathan shrugged and closed his eyes again, and when he opened his mouth, they stayed shut. "They are surrounded by white. Snow. There are five youmas, it looks like they decided to fight the General first this time. No, don't fall for that Sailor Moon. It's a trap. Mars tackled Moon before she could run to a fake Tuxedo Kamen. Tuxedo Kamen turned into a youma and the girls ran back. Oh, no way. They put another fake Tuxedo Kamen up again. Unbelievable. And Sailor Moon fell for it, again."

Jed raised his eyebrows at Zane who chuckled slightly.

"Tuxedo Kamen was replaced with some blond guy. Jupiter turns to look. She is caught in rope-like tentacles. All five youma are holding her. They flew up and...and are shocking her. She returns the favor. They are glowing. The youmas get thrown back and an ice structure grows. Its all points. And...and...and. Jupiter's been impaled."

Nathan ignored the dark feeling that entered him, even as he ignored the gasps, "The other scouts want to help her. She sends them away. Jupiter's dead." Nathan's voice cracked slightly on the last word. "Sailor Moon's collapsed. Venus is scolding her. She runs, Mercury and Mars grab her. Mercury slaps her. No! Don't split up! Don't split up! They split up. Mars, Venus, and Moon go ahead. Mercury stays behind."

Zane gaped, "Why did they leave her behind? That's like sentencing her to death. Her powers aren't any good in the offensive!"

Keenan shook his head, "That's why. They need to hold off the youmas, and if any one else died, it would be a huge blow to their campaign. Mercury might survive, she just needs to distract them."

"Mercury stands. Another person is used for a trap, a boy with short brown hair. She doesn't fall for it, she puts her visor across her face. The snow explodes a few feet in front of her. She tries to attack. Three of the youmas form a fireball. She dodges. She starts her attack, but is surrounded by the ball of fire. The tentacles wrap around her, she screams. She uses her computer to bludgeon one of the youma's head band. The fire disappears and she is dropped." Nathan winced, "Another icicle forms, she falls onto it, already dead."

"Two down." Jed whispered, fear in his eyes.

"The others are walking. Moon stops, I think she knows Mercury is dead. They talk for a moment. Venus leaps, pushing Moon out of the way. Tentacles spring up where Moon was, wrap around Venus and drags her down. The hole she dropped into flashes. She gives a youma a direct dose of her magic. The others fall away. Another icicle forms, she is held by it, dead."

The thee men give each other horrified looks. Well, Jed and Zane do, Keenan's face just tightened into deeper stoic lines.

"Mars drags Moon away. There are two youma left. Mars marches forward, Moon tries to stop her. Mars goes ahead anyway. The youmas dive into the ground next to her. Move Mars! She doesn't move. They trap her in ice. A youma shoots up behind Moon. Mars' fire hits it."

"You go, firebird." Jed murmured.

"It's dead. There are flashes of light from the ice that holds Mars. It crumbles. A youma stands in it, tentacles holding a limp Mars. Mars isn't dead. She manages to grab hold of the rising youma. She sends fire up its tentacles. The youma burns, and causes the ice to collapse more. The youma is dead. Mars is impaled. She's dead."

The room is silent. Only the ticking of the clock can be heard. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick... "Moon sits, her head on her knees."

"Get up, you idiot!" Jed shouted, "They died so you can get there. Don't make their deaths pointless."

Keenan walked over to Jed slowly, and grabbing the man's arm. "Calm down. I'll tell Nathan to stop watching if you don't calm down."

Taking a deep breath, Jed glared at Keenan, but he finally nodded his head and slumped back into the couch.

"She's still just sitting there." Nathan murmured after ten minutes. The men stayed silent, and listen as the clock tolled the eleventh hour. "Why is she just sitting there? Wait. She looks up. She stands."

Before Nathan could say more, both Jed and Zane jump to their feet cheering. But at Keenan's significant look, they sat back down sheepishly.

"She's running, now."

"Is she running away or towards the hideout?" Zane asks excitedly, but Keenan shushes him with another look.

"She is at the base of what looks like a giant crater. Oh, no! A red orb hits her and carries her into the air. It drops her in a dark room. There's a rock that looks like a huge skull, in front of which is a red haired woman. She walks out of the shadows, with a long staff." Nathan gasped suddenly, before the others could ask what was wrong, he continued in his monotonous voice. "Endymion is kneeling next to her, in full armor. He kisses her hands. She says something to him. He stands. He leaps. His sword is drawn. He's attacking Sailor Moon! She rolls out of the way and pulls out her wand. She tries to heal Endymion. It doesn't do anything. He leaps again. He slashes at Sailor Moon. She barely gets out of the way. She drops her wand. He forms a black rose and tosses it at her. It forms ropes around her, and shocks her. She is let go and collapses. Endymion walks towards her, he kicks her."

The Shitennou listened in horror as Nathan tonelessly described Endymion beating up Sailor Moon. No, he wasn't just beating her up, he was playing with her.

"Endymion raises his sword over his head. I think he's going to end it this time. Sailor Moon is reaching for her wand. It's just out of reach. She turns suddenly, and reaches out her hand. How did she do that? Light flashes from her palm and hits Endymion. He collapses. Oh, I see, it was her tiara. It...disappeared? Endymion forces himself to get up. He raises his sword again. She is kneeling in front of him. Why doesn't she move? She's holding out a...locket, of all things. She pleads with him. He's about to swing down. He lowers his blade? He reaches out and touches the locket. Some sort of light runs up his arm. He's glowing with light. It fades. He drops his sword. Falls to his knees. What just happened? Sailor Moon grabs his shoulders, holding him up. A red rose falls to his side."

"He's back." Zane murmured to himself. "The real Endymion's back."

"Sailor Moon hugs him. The red haired woman glares. She throws a giant rock at them. Endymion throws a rose at it. The rock splinters on contact. Those are some roses. He pushes Sailor Moon to the ground. The rose landed in the red haired woman's chest. Oh. That's gross. Her body cracked. One of the shards must have hit Endymion in the back, he is lying on the floor. His eyes are shut. The red haired woman melts into the floor. Endymion and Sailor Moon talk. His eyes close. He's dead."

"We failed again." Keenan said, his eyes closing and his hand rubbing his forehead.

"Sailor Moon leans in to kiss him. But stops. She sits back. The room starts to collapse and she gets up and walks away from Endymion. Sailor Moon is back on the snow. There's a huge woman in front of her. It's the red haired woman, but she has green hair now. She throws dark energy at Sailor Moon. Moon doesn't move. Another icicle forms. It grows an extra part. Moon stands unharmed on top of it. Except...Moon's the moon princess!"

"They lied to us." Jed said disbelievingly, "They said that there was a Senshi from the moon, but she was really the princess."

"Would you have told us?" Zane asked. "If you were in their place, would you have told us?"

Jed shook his head reluctantly, Zane smiled slightly, "Neither would I."

Suddenly, the power went out, and the men tensed. "If she doesn't hurry up and stop this, it will be too late." Keenan's voice said in the darkness.

"I just thought of something." Zane murmured, "If the Ginzuishou is so great, why didn't it stop the last fall?"

If the lights had been on, the men might have exchanged glances, but as it was...

"The woman throws more energy at Moon, no, the princess. The princess sends light towards the woman. Their powers collide. The dark energy seems to be getting more distance. Wait. The light is suddenly much more powerful. What happened? It pushes back the dark energy. The woman is surrounded by light. She disappears. The princess, back to being Sailor Moon collapses."

The clock began to strike the hour as they waited for something to happen. One. Two. Three. Four. The lights turn back on and the men look at each other. Five. Six. Seven. There is a strange rushing sound. Eight. Nine. Ten. The chiming slows. It stops for a moment. Then it starts again. Eleven. Jed fancies that it is chiming backwards now. Then pauses. That was a strange thought, but it still somehow seems true. On what should have been the twelfth strike, the men collapse, and the rushing sound becomes louder. And all but Keenan disappear into a strange gray fog.

* * *

Thus ends the first season. Don't worry, more is coming. More Senshi/Shitennou starting the next actual chapter (I'm thinking of doing a small interlude) and this time with other characters than Keenan and Minako. It just seemed like Mina was the only one who could cross the boundary up until this point, she had only just arrived herself.

I read the nickname firebird in one fanfiction, and liked it, so this is not my creativity but who ever came up with it.

As a side note, in the Silver Millennium the princesses went by their American names, Raye, Mina, Lita, Amy, and Serenity was shortened to Serena for differentiate, kinda like Small Lady's nickname Small Lady.


	6. An Interlude and a Delete Scene, Too

I really like the song sequence for the Super S movie, you know, where they were shown as kids. This interlude is the Senshi/Shitennou meeting as kids, they don't remember of course, but why should Mamoru be the only one to meet his soul mate as a kid. Just short encounters. _

* * *

___

How many times

_Did we pass each other_

_Before we finally_

_Collided?_

_-Kimberly Chadwick_

_Fruits Basket Fan Art Volume 14_

It's funny, isn't it? What the mind chooses to forget. What it remembers. Ami had a photographic memory when it came to equations, biology, poetry, and language, but she could not remember much from her childhood. She remembered making cookies with her mother at Christmas and a shadowy figure who was probably her father, painting in the living room. But, mainly her life was so routine that one day was hardly worth distinguishing from another.

She could not remember an insignificant meeting so many years ago, it was lost somewhere between her hippocampus and her frontal lobe.

If she could remember, she would know that it had been raining that day. Not hard, really a drizzle, but it was raining. Her mother had dressed her in galoshes and a rain coat. There were puddles on the ground from the storm the night before. She carefully avoided each one, wincing slightly when her foot got submerged even a little. She had been walking with her father, but he had stopped under a tree to paint the sky. She was left to keep herself busy. That was okay, she was good at that.

She had spotted a type of flower she had never seen before. Being a curious girl, she wanted to know how it smelled, what it looked like up close, and if the petals felt smooth like grass or soft like roses. Picking her way around the puddles, she didn't notice a boy ten feet away.

He was jumping from puddle to puddle, avoiding the drier cement that Ami had preferred. Giggling as the water splashed up around him. He didn't notice the small four year old either.

It was coincidence, perhaps, that when Ami had almost reached the flower, he reached the puddle next to it. And that the puddle was deeper than most the others. When he splashed up the water, it sprayed over the shy girl. Frightening her. She shrank in on herself so that it took the boy a few moments to notice she was there.

She stared at him as he laughed joyfully, her chin tucked into her neck. Finally, he saw her and his smile shrank to a small frown. "Are you 'kay?" he asked, seeing her frightened look, but not really understanding.

Ami didn't say anything, but pulled her extremities closer to herself. The boy was unperturbed by her lack of response, his smile returning, "Splashing is fun! Splash with me!"

He didn't wait for her answer, pulling her by the arm so that she was directly in the middle of the puddle, and he jumped, causing the puddle to spray again. Ami stood there, wondering if she could just walk away. He paused when he noticed that she wasn't moving.

"Try it!" he urged, his smile turning to a pout. Lifting her foot hesitantly, Ami watched the puddle as she lowered it slowly. The water merely swayed at the movement. The boy shook his head, laughing; his ear-length blonde hair slapping his face. "Not like that, silly."

He took hold of her hands and said, "Bend your knees, 'kay? We jump on three."

She closed her eyes, and when he said three, she jumped with all her might. The loud SPLASH was satisfying to her own ears. She opened her eyes slowly, and the first thing she saw was their entwined fingers, she looked up at his face, and his huge grin made her smile.

Suddenly, he started running through the puddles, pulling her behind him. His giggles streaming past her, and unexpectedly, Ami felt laughter burbling in her own throat. She timidly let out a small laugh, then another. Soon she was running with him, her giggles mixing with his laughs. Together, they danced in the puddles in that way that children had, throwing all caution to the wind.

The only thing she regretted about the day was that her father called her name much too soon. As she left, holding her father's hand, she snuck a glance over her shoulder to look at the strange boy, hoping to see his huge grin just once more. But, his smile was a little sadder than before as if he would truly miss her splashing with him.

By the time the week was out, the boy had faded from her memory, but sometimes, for reasons she didn't understand, the now sixteen year old Ami would walk outside the day after a storm and stare at the puddles, a feeling of wistfulness filling her.

* * *

They were not supposed to meet. But, Minako had never been interested in what was supposed to happen. Even at the tender age of three. Her parents had taken her to London to visit her aunt. They hadn't even been on the same continent. But, they met anyway.

Her aunt had brought her to London Zoo as a treat. The girl wore the poor woman out the first five minutes of their adventure, as Minako thought of it. She wanted to see everything! The lions, the monkeys, the giraffes! But, at noon, her aunt put her foot down about racing from one exhibit to the next. She made them sit at the playground for a while. Minako had pouted for a moment, but then decided that she could spend her time much better by playing.

Since they had just seen the monkeys, they were fresh in Minako's mind. She decided that it would be great fun to pretend to be a monkey. She was on the top step of the monkey bars, which her mother always said were for older kids, but momma wasn't here, so it didn't really count. She reached her hands up to try and grab the first bar, but she couldn't quite reach. Looking around for her aunt, she sulked slightly when she saw that her aunt was sitting on a bench, her eyes closed. It would take too long to go ask for help, she wanted to go on the monkey bars NOW.

Minako stood on her tiptoes, holding onto the side beam with her left arm, her right stretching. Her fingertips could only just brush the bottom of the cold metal bar. Frowning, she tried again. It didn't work. Finally, Minako decided if she couldn't reach it, she would just have to jump and grab it. She closed her eyes, her small face screwed in determination, and she bent her knees. What Minako didn't realize was that jumping and grabbing hold of something is not as easy as it looks in the movies.

Her fingers curled around the bar for just a moment, before it slid from her grip. She was falling. She opened her mouth to scream, but before a sound could come out, a pair of hands plucked her from the air. She looked down at the hands on her hips, and followed them to the older boy who held her. He was so big! His silver hair fell into his eyes, that were looking at her harshly.

"You shouldn't be on those." he said in those weird words that her aunt spoke and that she only barely understood.

"Monkey. Monkey." she chirped joyfully.

The boy shook his head at her, before sighing and stretching her up higher. When her fingers clutched the bar, she felt as though she was on top of the world. She reached her hand out for the next one. She didn't notice that she had to let go of the first one to reach it. She knew that she was swinging like a monkey in a tree.

The boy holding her up, smiled slightly at how crossing the monkey bars was making her so happy. She kept on saying with more happiness than he could ever remember feeling, "Monkey, monkey, monkey." He could tell that she didn't even feel it when it was he alone who was keeping her up in the air, she thought that she was doing it almost completely by herself.

Together, the boy and girl crossed the monkey bars, when they got to the end, Minako held onto the bar for a moment, and the boy pulled her slightly to indicate to let go, but Minako suddenly felt a little nervous.

"It's okay," The boy said softly, "I've got you."

Minako closed her eyes, and slowly released the bar, and the boy lowered her. When she was even with his shoulders, she reached out her arms and wrapped them around his neck. Startled, he almost let go of her, but held steady. One of his own arms wrapping around her shoulder to give her a small hug. She let go of him after a moment and he gently placed her back on the ground.

"Stay off the monkey bars, Little Monkey."

The girl gave him a radiant smile and a small wave before scampering back to where her aunt was. He smiled slightly and put his hands in his pocket, and went to look for his father who was guarding some guy who was giving a speech in the Zoo's auditorium.

* * *

She remembered that day clearly. She remembered that it was the first day of preschool, and she was feeling nervous. She was dressed in her favorite green dress and had begged her mother to let her bring her favorite stuffed dog. She remembered getting to the school and seeing all the other kids.

She had hid behind her mother's leg, trying to ignore the fear that was overwhelming her. None of the other kids would like her. She would be stupid. Mamma wouldn't come back.

The older woman looked at her daughter with compassion. Makoto had always been so sensitive. The woman prayed that the young girl's day would go easy, if it didn't, she shuddered at the thought of convincing the stubborn girl to go again.

Makoto's mom had warned her about bringing a stuffed animal, how it was possible she might be teased for it, but Makoto hadn't understood, not really. Besides, she needed Roo.

So, when the first thing anyone said to her was a nasty on her dog, she cringed in surprise. Mommy was not supposed to be right!

Through out the day, boys teased her for her dog and her tears. She tried to avoid them, but they followed her where ever she went. It was the worst at recess, they surrounded her and stole her dog. She hooked her hands behind her back, refusing to give them the satisfaction of trying to get it back. There were tears streaming down her face.

Then he appeared. He was the only thing that she didn't remember clearly, over time his face had become that of a superhero. She would never recognize him if she met him again, but whoever he was, he saved her and Roo.

"That's not yours." his voice sounded like Batman in her memory, but he was a little boy, only a few years older than herself.

The other boys laughed at him. He didn't flinch. He valiantly grabbed one of the boys' arm and twisted it. The boy shrieked and his friends dropped the dog and ran, to try and find easier prey. He watched after them for a moment before reaching down and grabbing her dog off the ground. He dusted it off before holding it out to her.

She stared at him suspiciously, half expecting him to snatch it back when she reached for it. Slowly, she extended her arm and when he didn't move she yanked it from his hands. Her fingers soothing its fur.

The boy gave her a mysterious smile before fading into the crowds of children. She felt her heart go out to him. He had saved her! She had a hero. The next day she planned to thank him, but he was gone. When the same boys as the day before teased her again, she tensed.

Makoto grew angry. She thought that she would only have to go through teasing once. But once her hero was gone, they came back? How was that fair? Scowling, she pulled her arm back and let it fly at the nearest bully. She hit him hard enough that his nose squirted blood. The sight of which was innately satisfying to Makoto. She was not to be teased. Not anymore. If her hero wouldn't save her, she would have to do it herself.

She never saw the boy in the second floor window who watched her punch her tormentors with a smile and pride. Even as his parents filed the papers to remove him from the school. A position had finally opened at the prestigious academy they had dreamed of sending him to.

* * *

She was training to be a miko. She would be the best miko ever! She would show daddy that she worth more than a meal every once in awhile. She would show everyone. If this annoying boy would stop interrupting her sweeping. Rei gave him her best glare, but she supposed she would have to work on it. The boy didn't seem fazed. He just kept talking.

"Mamma and pappa brought me here on vacation. I've never been to Japan before. But they say that its our roots. That's why we speak Japanese at home. They say we are touring the country. But a lot of the times we come to these shrines. Mamma says that we are seeing the many different ways people respect the gods, but I think that they are kinda boring."

"Shrines are not boring!" Rei shouted, how dare he insult her home!

The boy grinned, "I knew I could get you to talk to me, Cinderella."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and then thought for a moment, "Why did you call me that?"

He shrugged, his blue eyes dancing, "Because you are always sweeping, and that's what Cinderella does."

Six year old Rei, held up her broom, "That's not the only thing these are good for." she said trying to sound threatening.

The boy laughed at her, and she frowned. That wasn't supposed to be funny. It was supposed to make him run away in fear. She hit him experimentally, and he just laughed harder. She swatted him again, and he put his hand out, taking the broom from her.

"Just because you are funny, doesn't mean I'll let you hit me over and over. What kind of man do you think I am?" he asked puffing out his chest.

Rei stuck her finger on it, "Not a man at all, you are just an itty-bitty, germy boy!"

"Germy, huh? I thought it was girls who had cooties. I bet your the queen of cooties!"

Rei could not believe her ears, no one had ever spoken to her in such a way. She could not allow this! She stormed closer to him and snatched her broom from his hands.

"I do _not_ have cooties."

"Do to, Cootie Queen!"

Rei screeched and the boy began running, his blond curls bouncing with each mocking step. She chased after him, her broom swinging down every few seconds trying to hit him. He was able to dodge most hits.

"Cootie Queen. Cootie Queen." he yelled over his shoulder as he ran. Each time adding to Rei's rage, keeping her energy up.

Neither child noticed the three adults watching them with whimsical smiles. The boy's father said, "She's a spitfire isn't she?"

A little old man nodded his head vigorously, "She listens to me now, but I wouldn't bet on that lasting. So I'll be painfully abused in my old years."

"We'll pray for you." the only woman said, her face straight.

"Lovely lady, to be in your thoughts is compensation enough." the man flirted, waggling his bushy eyebrows.

Both the man and the woman laughed, before the man called to his son, "Jed? Tell the nice miko good-bye. We have to go now."

Jed turned to the "nice miko" and tried to wink at her, blinking instead, "Do I get a good bye kiss?"

"Never!" a panting Rei said.

"You're right, I wouldn't want to get your cooties, Cootie Queen."

She shrieked, but he had already raced over to his parents, and loathe as she was to admit it, adults made her nervous. Except the old man, he wasn't adulty enough. The boy gave her a cheeky grin as he and his parents walked down the stairs. Just one of thousands of visitors who passed through. Forgotten as soon as her initial anger disappeared. But if she ever remembered, she would still hold a grudge.

* * *

Deleted Scene

Funny story...not really, but this fanfiction started out completely different. Just a usual Shitennou (they were actually the evil generals, but after Moon's healing...) finding Mamoru after Sailor Moon ends. I don't know how it morphed into this idea, but there you have it. This scene is a deleted one as it would not work in this story. It was supposed to be the second mini-scene in the first chapter. The first being the first mini-scene of next chapter with Beth/Beryl being unable to find Metallia in Antarctica because it is the second time around, so Sailor Moon had already defeated Metallia and had to reverse time to get rid of everything that had happened. (I always figured that is what happened, instead of her just erasing memory, I just thought that it made more sense that way. How else would the Senshi and Mamoru come back to life?) Anyway, in the original version I was going to have Beryl as the villain, but then I realized I didn't have any ideas for an evil plot, sob. Besides I'd rather write about the character and relationship dynamics than make up a new evil. So this is how Beryl became in control of a new plot...

* * *

_'Here I am.' she (Beryl) wanted to shout, 'Where are you? Please don't resign me to mediocrity!'_

Two dimensions to the side and one up, the wicked left ear of Fate perked up. Fate, the two-faced man whose right hand never let the left one know what it was doing and vice-versa. Half of his body was serene, the other half had a perpetual sinister smirk. It was this smirking side whose hand started working at a tangled loom.

Throughout the tapestry, a silver thread was entwined with a gold. The entwined threads began an eighth of the way through the piece, surrounding them were ten threads. Paired together, dusty orange and tan gently wrapped around each other. Crimson and black, tightly knotted, closer to a battle than an actual connection. Deep blue and turquoise, spread from each other, that only on a closer look is their connection noticeable. Forest green and tree brown threads hugging each other so tightly that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. The last two, violet and white threads circled each other without touching as if they themselves were unaware of their own connection. But, around and through these six pairs a jarring, poisonous green thread weaved. This thread had been a pleasant dusty green but shortly into its life, it bled to this nauseous color. Which just before the twelve strings could gather together, it forced all but the gold and silver apart. And, abruptly, all thirteen of these threads disappeared. Only to reappear a little bit a way from what was now being weaved. But, this time, the tan, black, turquoise, and brown threads were ensnared by the vile green. Completely under its influence, and with this influence, they were cut off. Only to go backwards, starting again three inches earlier, with the other eight threads.

It was the continuation of these threads that both sides of Fate focused on. While the left side was busily reworking the poisonous green, the right was gathering the other twelve together. The right, serene side allowed himself a rare, small chuckle. These twelve belong together, but it was going to be an all out war to get them to admit it. As the left tied his final knot, he thought, 'Don't worry, my gem, you are too good a vessel to be left alone.'

For a moment, the two sides of Fate laughed together and time stilled in recognition. When all of Fate laughs its cacophonous laugh, it alters the course of Life itself.

* * *

The violet and white threads are Luna and Artemis, I think the rest are self explanatory...maybe.


End file.
